Pets can also be a source of solace (a teddy bear for all ages) and help to dissipate negative emotions like anger, disappointment and grief. Virtually all people talk to their pets and sometimes use them to work through conflicts or problems. Some couples have been observed to talk to each other through their pets.

A study at the University of Maryland suggested that pets help to bring families closer together, reducing conflict and tension and increasing play among family members. Dr. Erika Friedman, a health scientist at Brooklyn College, says that people who are ''de-pressed by the loss of a relative or friend can learn to love others again through first learning to love and care for a pet.''

For children, pets help to teach responsibility, nurturing, compassion, loyalty and empathy. Unlike adults in their interaction with children, pets are uncritical, consistently loving and don't give orders. In this age when both parents are often at work when children come home from school, pets offer children a dependable ''welcome home'' and a feeling of security.

Pets are becoming popular visitors to nursing homes and old-age homes, and in some cases, residents themselves. A University of Minnesota study of 774 long-term health care facilities disclosed that about half were using pets to help their residents. Pets were said to provide nursing-home residents with entertainment and enjoyment, to serve as an outlet for the expression of feelings, rekindle pleasant memories and create a more homelike atmosphere.

Dramatic improvements in outlook and ability have been noted among nursing-home residents as a result of pet programs. Previously uncommunicative and bedridden patients have started talking to the staff and other residents about their pets and some have even got up and gone out to walk their pets.

However, Mr. Westbrook of the Gerontology Center cautions that the introduction of pets into a nursing home or other institutional facility must be carefully planned to insure effectiveness and safety for the residents, staff and the pets themselves. His group has established guidelines, which he will share with those who call him at 213-743-5158 or 213-876-7445.

Dr. Daniel Lago's program at Pennsylvania State University has given pets to 65 rural elderly people, nearly half of whom live alone. For some, he reports, the pets have sparked ''dramatic transformations,'' enabling severely disabled people to rise above their disability and helping depressed, reclusive people become more socially active. His preliminary observations suggest that closeness to a pet is the key to its benefits, showing an association with higher morale, greater social activity and better physical health.