ABSTRACT
The examination of the general principle that people might choose pets to "meet" characteristics of themselves in some special external form and to "reflect" certain aspects of the individual and family has had little or no attention. The animal—pet or horse—can be the means by which a family could be more "open" to its neighbours and their children, thus permitting the couple or the family to widen its network in the direction of those likely to have common values or, sometimes, in meeting those with whom a bond is sought. The animal is not simply another object in the environment of the individual member of the family, nor is the pet only a means for beginning to learn at first hand about the animal world. The pet should, irrespective of the unique needs of the family and the individuals comprising it, possess characteristics that will ensure the following: survival; dependence; over-demanding; pairing relationship.
