ah!!! good question... lots to think about in particular to my mhyk au... I think both are neutral about them, but have distinct exceptions...

I think Leila is fond of animals mainly from afar..? She enjoys seeing animals through her window and at times wishes she could admire them a little closer. One of her favorite leisure activities is simply enjoying the scenery around her, animals included. She enjoys watching and feeling life being alive which puts her heart at ease... if that makes sense..? She does like petting them if it's safe to do so! But she doesn't harbor a huge interest in animals on a personal level... (much like people). She doesn't have a favorite animal at the moment, but she likes small critters! I will say she is Particularly Curious and interested inreptiles...

Elaine on the other hand is more welcoming of them in proximity, especially since they occasionally roam around in her town. She is also more adept at handling/dealing with them as needed and isn't disturbed by their closeness (Leila would struggle to keep calm with sudden approaches). But, like Leila, she doesn't have a huge interest in them on a personal level either. She does have favorites though (owls and deer), and would consider those animals the exception of lacking personal interest as she has fond memories of them from her youth. She has a really good memory and often can distinguish the various owls and deer from one another. She would give them names too... but that's not something she would tell others haha...

tl;dr, Leila and Elaine lean mostly neutral towards their likeness of animals, but Leila is interested in reptiles for reasons that maybe i'll explain in the future, while Elaine is interested in owls and deer because they're really cute to her and also early life experiences.