What is the importance of animals in the novel, The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street?

Animals in the novel function as an opportunity for the characters to rediscover their human senses and exercise their compassion. For Mr. Beiderman, he has spent so many long years alone without a family and nobody to take care of or to take care of him. Hyacinth's idea to give him one of the kittens represents her belief in the healing properties of communing with animals.