There's a type of pet owner who loves not the pet but the ideal friend/child/partner they project onto them. The animal can suffer quite badly, unnoticed, in the process. Finding emotional support in the pet isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is if it's done that way.
Like when people say they're 'animal lovers' but still eat a lot of them and turn a blind eye to mistreatment etc.
What they mean is they like owning a pet.