Pests

I can't understand why people keep dogs, cats and budgies as pets. Why do they talk to them as if they are human? Why do they attribute human intelligence to their behaviour? What's the point of them?
There are some strange types who keep such dangerous things as pythons, lizards, poisonous spiders, and rheas. Yes, remember the pet rhea that escaped from its owner's Hertfordshire home last week and couldn't be found? A rhea can apparently kill a person with a single kick.