They have rabies vaccines, cat scratch fever is really rare, ringworm is also really rare and easy to get rid of, you can get ringworm from the dirt, ringworm is essentially athletes foot.
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What are the chances of getting all these things? How serious are they? What are the chances to improve one's immunity thanks to the proximity with animals, to avoid allergies? That must be taken into consideration, as well as the considerable psychological and comforting effect of the animal.
Do we worry about the rare instances where people catch a disease from our pets yet in the meanwhile, we're irradiating ourselves daily with digital devices? :shrug:
Drinking out of cancer causing plastics etc. I have never had an issue from my pets. If I did they would pay for themselves ten fold with the pests they keep away and the times they have protected me. I had a German Shephard attack someone hopping my fence, a shepherd attack a guy prowling outside my house and a rottweiler attack a homeless guy who tried to get close to me as a kid xD. Dogs even cats are extremely loyal. A few years ago i was dicking around in a thicket of trees and sprained my ankle really badly and my dog never once left my side and he kept licking my face which if I was more seriously hurt would have kept me from passing out I imagine.
i couldn't repay the loyalty of a dog with treating it like wart.
A friend of mine, (same guy/family from my previous post in the thread), slept with all his animals at times growing up. His bed even looked like it smelled. But dammit if he wasn't as healthy as the next kid. He was one of those kids that always had black under his fingernails too. Now, I'm not suggesting we all forget about personal hygiene - but I get what you are saying - exposure to these kinds of things perhaps strengthens the immune system. Realizing how dirty and healthy he was helped me get over a little germ phobia I developed as a young teen - never been a germaphobe since.
I occasionally let my dog sleep on the bed. He just sheds a bit too much though.