LOL, Ivy.
I can confirm that this is true.
I can also confirm that then when they go to college, you're often stuck with the pet(s). So there's that.
One of my FAVORITE memories of DD is her, at 6yo, playing with our then 4mo old puppy, in a gargantuan mud puddle in our back yard, after a heavy warm rain in mid-June. The entire memory is crisp and rich with sensory detail-- I can recall the quality of the light, playing on the water, the color of DD's hair with the sunlight shining on it, what the puppy sounded like, splashing and barking, and DD's joyful laughter as she wiggled a stick in the puddle to entertain the dog. Yes, they were both filthy-- uncharacteristically for
both, as it turns out. Neither of them is much for grime or the outdoors. LOL.
It is one of the few times I can recall feeling "normal" as a parent-- I treasure that memory.
That puppy still lives with her, and while the dog in question is now a senior, 12yo one, DD walks her daily, takes good care of her-- I credit much of DD's mental health stability to having had a pet for so many years. This is also the dog that went to state fair with her in competition for many years, too. The dog she did freestyle ('dancing with your dog' basically) and obedience with.
A dog is a companion like no other, in all seriousness-- and for only children who also have differences that prevent easy relating with peers-- an invaluable one.
IMO, of course.
DD was a great fan of some toys-- but not many. Books and things that she "collected" (whatever that happened to be at the time) were often better once she was 4-5yo.
