I think there's something to that study. Both sides of my family were dog owners and none of us ever suffered allergies, asthma, hay fever, etc. My mother was

I think there's something to that study. Both sides of my family were dog owners and none of us ever suffered allergies, asthma, hay fever, etc. My mother was a sticker for cleanliness and drummed into us kids from an early age to always wash up properly after handling animals, especially birds. I suppose that's why I was horrified when the dog licked me. That said, with owning animals there'll always be enough animal 'residue' left in the nearby environs no matter how clean one tries to be. BTW, I also kept white mice and rats when a kid. Leaving aside hygiene issues, I believe it's important for kids to grow up with animals for many reasons—too many to discuss here.