How children can benefit from animals I grew up along with horses, dogs, sheeps and different small animals and I’m very grateful I had this opportunity. An animal is such a great teacher. Patience, calm, straightforwardness and assertiveness are only a few of the mental skills you have to develop in order to work successfully with an animal. Furthermore an animal needs daily care. My granny and my parents always told me they would give away my pets if I wouldn’t look after them. This is, particularly for a small child, no easy task. While playing and discover the world, it’s easy to forget to feed the chicken or to muck out the guinea pig gave. But if parents do strict reminder, the child will develop a good sense of responsibility. Furthermore, also the physical health can benefit by having a pet. Several studies have shown, that people owning a pet are more resistant to allergies and infections. Especially toddlers still-developing immune systems (the immune system is completely developed only by the age of 7 years) can be strengthened by a pet friendly environment. But beside all this, animals just make us happy. Isn’t it heart-warming to be greeted with a friendly purr, an excited whinny or a cheerful squeal when waking up or coming home?