Mostly I like it when people pat my dog Roxie – but a man with a goatee took it a step further

‘[Roxie] enjoys textures and smells and flavours. They help her understand the world. When I tell her sweet nothings she sniffs the air around my words like she is making them part of her.’ Photograph: Ashe Davenport

I’m not what you would call a “dog person”. I love my 15-month-old border collie more than some blood relatives, but that love does not extend to dogs in general. I appreciate dogs, but won’t stop to pat a stranger’s dog, for instance, unless I’m trying to manufacture a version of myself who has an easy relationship with the world and affinity with all its creatures.

Personality-wise I’m closer to a cat than a dog. I can be standoffish, self-serving and strategic. If a stranger tries to hug me my body will involuntarily contort to get away from them. I got a dog because I wanted to believe in something better. I thought Roxie would teach me the kind of presence and open-heartedness the world is crying out for.