The animal in your care still needs you on the days it cannot be entertaining.

Animals are easy to love when they are funny, and the affection they draw is partly a response to how much they give back. Then they get old, or ill, or simply dull for a stretch, and the same needs continue with none of the charm attached. Care that only turns up for the delightful version is closer to entertainment than care.

Do one thing for your animal this week that returns nothing to you: the slow walk at their pace, the vet appointment, the teeth, the brushing they hate. Notice that the relationship survives without a reward.