Welcome to Dream Views!
It sounds as if you have found your very own dream guide, so congratulations! As for animals playing a big part, ever person's dreams are composed of different factors depending on their personality and experiences. You could possibly feel a strong connection to animals, thus that transfers to your dreams.
Back to the topic of your possible DG, I would suggest asking him his name, and seeing what he tells you. You can learn a lot about yourself from your dream guides. If you're the kind who believes that dreaming occurs on a more spiritual level, and that dream guides may be something more than your inner self, I would suggest you check out the Beyond Dreaming forum. That also covers things such as shared dreaming, and astral projections- that is, if you're into that sort of thing.

Anyways, if you have any questions, feel free to ask! I promise, most people on here don't bite.

Happy dreaming~~~