Nurturing skills are learned. By being taught to take care of an animal, the children can develop these skills. Animals can open a channel of emotionally safe, non-threatening communication between client and therapist. In therapy settings, animals help present an air of emotional safety. The animal's presence may open a path through the person's initial resistance.
Children are especially likely to project their feelings and experiences onto an animal.
Animals have a way of accepting without qualification. They don't care how a person looks or what they say. An animal's acceptance is nonjudgmental, forgiving, and uncomplicated by the psychological games people often play. At a minimum, the presence of an animal can be entertaining. Even people who don't like animals often enjoy watching their antics and reactions.