See if there's any way you could help your mom find/get re-acquainted with her "penguin". Seeing that she's your mom, she probably never lost touch with hers, maybe they are so close that she's not completely conscious of their connection. Try it lightly, at times when she 'just knows' something, like
"Hey, how did you know that? " "Been talking to your 'penguin' (or whatever you think her 'daemon' might be) again?" etc.
You know what I mean. I am sure you can intuitively do this according to the situation, as you know/understand your mom.
Have you read Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass"? There each person has a daemon, an animal that's connected to the person for life. It's a heart connection, the daemon and its person feel each other's feelings. Check it out if you haven't read it already. Your library probably has it.
you got a penguin. If he ever needs another home send him here ... I wouldn't mind a penguin like that...