one craps everywhere, tears stuff apart and should be in a cage, and then there are animals. the fact is that some people treat their animals like children (or, sadly, better than in some cases), because they can’t have children, their relationship with their children is poor or non-existent or their child has passed away. and thusly, we have people who dress their animals up and talk to them like children. i think, too, that it is somewhat natural to develop a strong relationship with an animal/animals. they’re using animals to rehabilitate inmates, to keep seniors from developing depression (since their own kids/grandkids often dump them) and to help people who are suffering from chronic illness (cancer, etc). every animal, like every child, has it’s own personality, characteristics and the like. but in a certain sense, the bond formed between people and animals is strong. Not a child-parent bond, but a bond nonetheless.