Hey, that may be true, but if we follow that implication, then we’d have to ignore the fact that exposure to germs from pets can actually strengthen the immune system and reduce the risk of developing allergies. Sometimes, what seems like a downside has unexpected benefits.

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Allergies often develop due to overly clean environments and low exposure, followed by sudden contact with allergens. For example, in Finland, many immigrants from warmer countries develop severe birch pollen allergies because they weren’t exposed to it as children and never built up a tolerance. The same happens when city kids who’ve had little to no contact with animals suddenly start spending time around dogs, cats, or horses.

In my case, I didn’t have much exposure to animals growing up, which likely contributed to my allergies. Had I been raised on a farm with constant contact, I might have had better resistance — or maybe even fewer atopic tendencies altogether.

It took me years to build up a tolerance to dogs, but now we have three, and I’m mostly allergy-free.

Turns out, stubbornness works both ways — mine and the dogs’! But I'll tell you about the cat later.