Therapy Pets (body mods)

In this alternate setting:

-Petgirls are a recent occurrence, first starting to manifest sometime in the 90s and becoming an accepted part of society by the near future. At this point, there's been some strides made in gene therapy and cosmetic surgery. Society and businesses have adjusted to accommodate petgirls.

-The pet gene is dominant in the X chromosome. That means it's far more common in women. There ARE male pets, but they comprise only 5% of the entire petgirl population, and the gene will lay dormant unless the petboy has low enough testosterone for it to fully manifest, leading to barely 1% of the pet population being boys who fully commit to the pet life. The result is that petboys tend to be scrawny, androgynous, and easily pass for girls if crossdressing.

-The pet gene is hereditary and causes a kind of psychological desire to act like a pet to a non-pet person. One can resist the urge, but this can cause mental health problems like depression. What animal they identify with is largely up to them, and is a mix of what they "feel" is right and what they consciously WANT to be. So there's a physiological factor and a conscious choice factor, though which is more prominent in regards to the pet's animal they identify as varies form pet to pet. Common household pets like dogs and cats are the most common, but some pets DO identify as rare exotic pet species like skunks and sugar gliders. To date, no pet has ever seriously identified as a mythological creature.

-The pet gene makes it easier to edit the pet's genetic code. Thus, while kemonomimi aren't common and accessories are totally acceptable, some pets do undergo gene therapy and surgeries to to have animal parts added as a physical part of their body so as to help their body image, akin to HRT and gender reassignment surgery for trans people.

-Body mods are still in their infancy. While parts can be vat-grown and implanted, they may still leave surgical scarring. Full-body fur might be patchy and not the color/pattern you want, while scales are only possible through surgically implanted facsimiles. Paws are still a pipe dream but simple hair/eye color/pattern and teeth edits are simple enough, but might take time for the gene therapy to take effect and require multiple gene therapy sessions.

-The pet gene traditionally awakens around puberty, but some pets with weaker genes may not realize it until later, and some may also try to hide it out of fear of the reaction of those in their life. For example, some religious people may attempt to use their faith as an excuse to persecute pets. However, suddenly awakening to being a pet as a full adult is extremely rare, especially if they didn't show any biological signs of it during puberty. Testing for the pet gene is also entirely possible, as are cheaper and more accessible psychological tests.

-Pets have a much lower fertility rate than regular humans, but can get fertility treatments.

-Much like accessories to simulate animal parts, some pets prefer to dress certain ways to get across the animal they identify as. This is generally accepted as helping their body image and preventing dysphoria, but public nudity is still frowned upon even from petgirls. Felony exposure laws are more lax now, though. The most some accidental exposure would get you is a slap on the wrist and certain pet-oriented areas like petgirl parks and petgirl cafes are considered safe locations for petgirls who prefer to be nude or scantily clad to dress how they wish. Public exposure of non-pets is still quite illegal.

-Petgirls have found much success as therapy and service "animals." While many still prefer dogs and cats for such roles, some types of service "animals" function better when performed by a petgirl who can verbally advocate for their owner and has hands.