What do pets mean to you?

Our family is pretty dysfunctional and tends to fight and argue a lot. We are often at each others throats when we are all in the house together, especially around the holidays. I would say our pets, especially the three dogs we had, were peacemakers and mediators. They would take our attention away from fighting with each other and getting angry with each other - instead we would focus on them and play with them, and relax.