Mmm.. interesting subject. I think that people have pets for a number of different reasons. There is an animal behaviourist, Dr David Sands, who believes that people have pets purely as a replacement for something. I am not sure about this one. For example, when us kids were growing up, my parents always bought us pets. We were never without pets. I can't see how that is a replacement for anything. To me, it is the completion of a family.

I think an example of a replacement is this very sad story. I am currently reading a book called Goodby Dear Friend. It is about grieving for a pet . One lady that features in this book wanted children but was told she could not have them. Some while after she bought a kitten who she named Feather. Feather was killed in an accident as a kitten. She was buried under the apple tree in the garden and this woman laid out in the garden nearly every day just to be close to Feather. Her grief was so immense that she disregarded everything and everyone in her life and her marriage was almost destroyed. She thought of nothing else and grieved for Feather for 9 long years until she was finally hospitalised. Even that didn't help. Eventually, she found the Church and this helped her a little. However, many years later she still grieves for Feather and every day she still places a fresh flower in a vase next to Feather's photograph in her memory. She claims that she will never get over losing Feather even though she does have two cats and a dog now. She just lives with her grief.

Gosh, I'm crying now.