Why does it disturb you so much? And what do you consider ‘overly human’? There are a lot of lonely people to whom a pet animal IS family.
I think that people who dearly love their animals aren’t the only ones with ‘issues’. I’d certainly prefer one of them in a foxhole with me, than someone who discounts that devotion as ‘disturbing’.
For many people, the love of and for an animal can be revelatory in many areas important to HUMAN life.
It's odd and disturbing. I've never encountered anyone like her, though, so I figure she is one of a kind when it comes to her pets...she seems normal otherwise.
I could bore you with examples, but just yesterday, she told me she was a helicopter parent in reference to her cat. Anyone listening to her conversations and not aware it was a cat she is talking about/referring to would think it is a human.
I won't even get into what happened when she thought her cat was lost one week ago.