Pets "nurture a sense of responsibility, caring and duty… It is an opportunity often denied to our "have it all" but "have nothing" children. And ultimately pets convey an understanding of the cycle of life and death in a sanitised and medicalised world.

"So when I find my 3yr old asleep in the dog's bed, the dog asleep in my 7yr old's bed, and the dead mouse left on my daughter's bed by the cat, I am happy."

Des Spence, Glasgow GP in the BMJ