Better Than a Teddy Bear: Shaggy Dog Serves as Hug Pillow for Infant https://sputniknews.com/videoclub/202004071078865040-better-than-teddy-bear-... https://twitter.com/nakamanian/status/1247434886836662272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etf... Also, children with pets == far fewer allergies and a stronger immune system: More Pets, Fewer Allergies Children who live with cats and dogs when they are infants are less likely to develop allergies later in childhood https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/well/family/dogs-cats-pets-kids-children-... .. In both groups, allergy reports declined steadily with the number of pets, from about a third of the children in families with no pets down to zero in households with five or more cats or dogs. The study, in PLOS One, controlled for many factors, but the link between pet ownership and decreasing risk for allergy persisted. Number of Pets in Infancy Tied to Lower Allergy Risk A study finds the effect is dose-dependent, with each additional pet further lowering the odds of developing allergies. [ridiculously cute picture of dog and child not attached] https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/number-of-pets-in-infancy-tied-to... .. “This is the hygiene hypothesis at work,” coauthor Bill Hesselmar, an associate professor at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, tells The New York Times, referring to the longstanding idea that a lack of exposure to infectious diseases, microbes, or parasites in developed countries has led to climbing rates of allergies and other autoimmune conditions.