do familiars' effective HD count for determining benefits from companion spirit

[Venger]

I know that a familiar's fake HD don't count for most stuff, but I was wondering if they counted for determining the minimum number of HD possessed by any particular party member for the purpose of determining what benefits they could get from companion spirit from DMG 2.

[Curmudgeon]

Familiars don't have "fake HD".
Hit Dice: For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master’s character level or the familiar’s normal HD total, whichever is higher.

Hit Points: The familiar has one-half the master’s total hit points (not including temporary hit points), rounded down, regardless of its actual Hit Dice. A computation that uses some portion of the master's HD is a class feature, and has nothing to do with actual hit dice. Most familiars will have from ¼ to 1 Animal hit die.

[Venger]

Familiars don't have "fake HD". A computation that uses some portion of the master's HD is a class feature, and has nothing to do with actual hit dice. Most familiars will have from ¼ to 1 Animal hit die.

so then for the purposes of this effect, I would use the familiar's unmodified HD value as though it were a normal creature of its kind?

[Curmudgeon]

Sure, if you've got an improved familiar which meets the 4 HD minimum requirement for the ritual and the group has put in enough training time with that familiar.