A celebrity relationship is reportedly going to the dogs -- because of differing degrees of affection for a deceased pet pooch. Why do women love their pets so much?

JENNY SCOTT spoke to a keen pet-owning couple. . .

THEY'VE long been the cherished pets of women in the public eye, from the Queen to Geri Halliwell. And this week Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart was on the point of ditching boyfriend Harrison Ford because he didn't share her grief when her beloved companion Webster passed away.

So what makes some women treat their dogs like members of the family? And are some of us in danger of becoming blinded by puppy love? Not according to Jane Atkinson, 51, of Linden Avenue, Ramsbottom. For animal lover Jane is also a "mum of five" -- five border collies, that is.

And Bess, Misty, Sheba, Moss and Bracken not only have their own sleeping quarters -- ranging from the downstairs sofa to a foam bed in Jane's room -- they also dictate Jane and husband Ian's holiday plans, social life and even the kind of house they live in.

But with no children, Jane insists her dogs are her family and claims she doesn't view their monopolising of her life as a sacrifice.

"You just work round them," she said. "You don't really sacrifice anything."

Indeed, since Jane and Ian retired from the Greater Manchester Fire Service where they both worked, dogs have become their life. Both are involved in rescue work, re-homing, pet therapy and Ian is a qualified dog trainer.

"I've always been into animals," Jane said. "When I was growing up we didn't have a dog, so I used to go out and walk somebody else's."

So what is it about dogs that makes them such good pets?

"They have a great understanding of things," said Jane. "They can read your moods. You can even talk to them if you have a problem."

So how exactly do the dogs rule the roost in the Atkinson household? Well, for starters, Jane and Ian have to take separate summer holidays to accommodate their hounds.

"We have a two-berth caravan on a campsite in Wales," said Jane. "My husband goes for a week or so with two of the dogs, then he comes back and I take the other three. We find it's best to do it that way."

Jane and Ian also moved into their current house 12 years ago because its big garden made it ideal for their cluster of collies.

The dogs also dictate Jane's daily routine.

"I've never had children, but I think dogs are harder work," said Jane. "You can never leave them to be looked after by anybody. We have to be up early to get them out. It's usually about 6am in the summer because it's not good for them to be out in the heat. Three of them sleep in the bedroom and, in the morning, they come up to you one by one and touch you with their paws, as if to say, 'Get up'.

"If we go out to see friends, by 11pm we're looking at our watches and thinking we'd better get back to give the dogs their supper."

Not that Jane and Ian have any regrets about putting their pets first.

"They are my life," Jane said. "I've always had a very demanding career and children were never really at the forefront of my mind. The dogs are the family."

And Jane finds it easy to sympathise with celebrity animal lovers like Calista Flockhart, who may even be prepared to put her love for her dog before her love for her man.

"Most of our friends are quite animal-orientated," she said. "But if people aren't into dogs, they shouldn't come to our house. It's as simple as that."