People and pets

This paper, arising out of the personal experience of the author and her colleagues and friends, explores the significance of pets to their owners. Drawing on psychoanalytic and attachment theory, ethology, veterinarians and literature, she suggests that pets may be attachment figures, transitional objects and therapists. Their constancy, along with the inarticulate complexity of the relationship formed, goes some way towards illuminating the intense grief reaction of some owners at their pet's death. Although the media are currently recognizing the importance of pets and the ways that people are irresistibly hooked into a relationship with them, the author is perhaps suggesting that they may also be a source of understanding for counsellors and clients in the consulting-room.