General

I voted yes on the poll but damn, those strawberry shortcake ice cream bars...my school started serving them junior year, and I had one every time I visited the cafeteria. Which was not often cause we just ate in the halls and stuff.

@Nashi: no it was more about fleas (esp because california has been dry, fleas have been vicious) but no matter what i explain to them they won't accept it. like mine is exclusively indoors with no signs of wanting to go out; he's perfectly content with chilling on the windows
my oldest sis thinks i can't take care of myself so why take care of a cat but if anything he's the reason i dont stay in bed all day anymore and i've kept up with my studies way better if not like before with him around even though he likes to sit directly in front of the monitor sometimes lmao. i took 5 classes this quarter (10 weeks), all upper divisions and i somehow didn't break down so maybe a sign

@Nashi Unfortunately no, they passed years ago
We had two of them, and to me they were the most interesting pet I have owned. They had separate enclosures across the room, and when they saw eachother from across the way they would do the most intensely hilarious mating dance; Complete with robotic-like hand waving and aggressive head bobbing.
Mine also licked [i]everything[/i]. He was particularly slow moving and mellow, but I couldn't keep my eyes off of him when I let him out, as he'd run like hell somewhere if I weren't looking. He was about a foot and some change long.
Ahhh.. I miss them terribly

@Nashi Did some more intensive research on the crabs. The more I searched, the more I began to wonder if a hermit crab would be a good pet. They look like fun pets to have, but they also seem extremely fragile and can get really easily stressed by things as a bit too low/high temperature or humidity, which can result in their death. I don't want a death pet in 3 weeks.

I'm gonna go for a pet baby tortoise this week. Tortoise were my favorite animals when I was a kid. Went to a specalized petstore today and got some good information and checklist of what to get for my pet.

@Nashi: I had them when I was about 9 or 10. My stepmother was very...picky about how we handled our pets and she very rarely even let us take them out of their tank so they could get used to us. I'm not even sure why she let us have some of the pets we did, with that statement in mind. So basically they were just there for us to look at. My stepmom got tired of having to buy crickets every week and gave them to the 5th grade teacher at the school my brother attended. If I had a say in the matter I'd still have them but alas...evil stepmothers *shakes fist*

@Nashi: Betta fish? oh YES! I've had those before! My dad was stupid enough to just put 2 Bettas in the same fish tank and they were fighting so hard. I had to separate them. They are so pretty. I had a red one and a blue and yellowish one.

I love cats and dogs but I CAN'T STAND living with them. So no thanks.
On that note we have a cat (that drives me insane daily. S&gt
two Aquariums (one guppy tank and one Betta tank)
and a bearded dragon.
Life can be great without pets and it's more flexible honestly. But I enjoy having my Betta (very social little guy) and our beardie (super tame but not fully grown yet).

Also, I don't know how it is in other countries but in USA (or specifically in my area) the cages for small rodents (like hamsters) are WAY too tiny. They also suggest 40gal for a grown bearded dragon and fish bowls for Bettas etcetc.... people here get terrible, false information about how to keep pets and it hurts me to see especially how hamsters are held (Since I used to have two before (not at same time) and I felt terrible I 'only' gave them an about 3-foot enclosure. Hammies here get maybe 1 foot if even that. That's animal cruelty.)
Bettas in tiny bowls without filtration and with sharp gravel/decorations.. awful. (Our guy shares a 10 gallon with an Oto, filed down the decoration, added real wood and plants)
And since the terrarium options for beardies are also bad (really expensive and 'recommended' is 40gal which wasn't enough for us) we just built our own enclosure for our little guy (5 foot by 2 foot).
I'll want a hammy in the future too so I guess we'll have to somehow find a way to build a hammy-safe, long cage. Conditions pets live in here in USA is really horrible, there's much better options in Germany and there I was told my 3 foot enclosure was 'minimum' for my hammy so I lack all understanding for how people can think how hammies live here is ok.
Also saw some kids (old enough to drive a car but they looked like teens) buying a hedgehog together with a TEN GALLON aquarium. Wtf?
Some people are too stupid for pets so I say not everybody should have one. Especially not those that don't spend the time to research about what their pet is gonna need (and how much MAINTENANCE it needs!)

@Icephoenix21: What happened to the leopard geckos? since they supposedly can live for 20+ years... I want one, preferably a baby (I prefer to tame animals starting small) but I'm a little intimidated by their life span and I definitely don't wanna give it away in the future...
@ILikeAnime: Those are so cute, my husband had some when he was younger xD I want one too but we don't have space (we just transfered our beardie in his 5 foot enclosure lol..). Hope you'll enjoy!
@Dorks: the 'dirty' probably comes from all the hair they shed (plus them licking their fur after licking their anuses clean lmao). I'm not a fan of cats either and if I touch my nose after petting our cat I get unbearably itchy too... To each their own, pets can be therapeutical if you can stand living with them lol. Othewise they can be a reason to move to a mental asylum
@xFaceIess: you can always get a pet once you moved out of your parents' home. You also have to keep in mind though that pets are work, especially dogs unless you have a house with a backyard they can poop in (and even then you should probably remove to poop if you don't wanna step into it regularly). Dogs also don't exactly smell great at least I haven't met a dog so far that didn't have strong odor. It's worse the older they are
@sammmmmich: Ahhh do you have your beardie still? O:
@DirtyMouth: Man you 'killed' a lot of pets lol. Wonder if the hamster was sick from the start though.. I had hamsters when I was younger too and they both lived for about 2+ years, I feel they're easier to keep than most pets. I'd freak out if a pet would die on me, even fish. Cried my eyes out when my first Betta died since it was a chaotic chain reaction of terrible situations and I blamed myself for it. Still do

Imma tell you all the pets I had in my life.
11 years old - hamster. (died in a week)
12- fishes and a bunny. (Bunny died in 8 months. cried my brains out. didn't really care about dying fish)
13- chickens and ducks. Yes, real LIVE chickens and ducks. (my mom raised them for eggs) We lived in an area where there were a lot of farms for a couple of years.
14-yorkshire terrier 3 months old. coyotes took him away. cried
15-beautiful cat that i raised myself. He died at 3 years of age. worst moment of my life
16 -5 kitties that I gave away to my friends before I left for college. Golden Retriever 1 years old. gave him to a very nice family who loves dogs. We gave him away because my mom was afraid of that dog eventhough he was the nicest thing in the world.
17-19 lived in a city
im 20 now. i want a cat

tbh I really want a pet ferret it's insane
Shame my climate is sucky and they require even more work to keep
but my god they're so adorbs <3 <3

I don't think everyone should have a pet. I have come to believe that some people will get a pet simply because it is 'cute'. Unfortunately for the animal that cuteness fades the second the naive owner realizes that 'cute' comes with alot of responsibility and a ton of patience. In the end there's a sad truth as to why animal shelters exist.
It may not be the mentality or reason for all cases, but for the most part.. People just don't realize the responsibility that comes with a pet.

I have/had happily shared my homes with: [url=http://i.imgur.com/S6a8jzF.jpg]Rats[/url], Several Cats, Dogs, a Bearded Dragon, a Ball Python, Various small lizards, Frogs, Birds, Fis- There's alot..

[quote=Dorks]i adopted a kitty [url=https://i.imgur.com/wVOKz3o.jpg]6 months ago[/url], very skittish but lovable <3 i set up an area on my desk so [url=https://i.imgur.com/ASPxn1P.jpg]he can chill[/url] while i work
my parents and oldest sis hates cats bc they cant protect the house, are "dirty" (wth). my mom has visited me at my apartment before and claimed her skin was itchy -__-
i have told them that my cat's made me very happy and stable but they don't rly understand

oh and my school has flufflies therapy during finals week that's pretty cool[/quote]

He's adorable! <3

I agree with purple guy on first page. People should only have pets if they're able to take care of them. x:
Mmm. I really want a dog or cat. .. dog! ^-^ I'd probably be a happier, less stressed person.
.. but my mum hates cats, and especially dogs because they're "dirty" and "maul people to death".

I would love to have a dog but I don't really want to take care of it, hence why I don't have one.

yes I love cats

i adopted a kitty [url=https://i.imgur.com/wVOKz3o.jpg]6 months ago[/url], very skittish but lovable <3 i set up an area on my desk so [url=https://i.imgur.com/ASPxn1P.jpg]he can chill[/url] while i work
my parents and oldest sis hates cats bc they cant protect the house, are "dirty" (wth). my mom has visited me at my apartment before and claimed her skin was itchy -__-
i have told them that my cat's made me very happy and stable but they don't rly understand

oh and my school has flufflies therapy during finals week that's pretty cool

Some people shouldn't have pets

I have all sorts of different animals in my house. One per room of my house, if not more than one atm. They're super fun and entertaining.

I'm planning to get my first pet this week:

Tumtumtum... a Hermit Crab.

I have a cat.

She's currently wearing a cone of shame and being the most depressed thing ever.

In the past I've had: huskies, chihuahua/daschund mixes, 3 other cats, 2 birds and 3 leopard geckos. Not all at the same time, of course.

I care too much about animals to take a baby cat or a dog away from their families and force it to stay in my home just for my pleasure. But to each their own I guess.

EDIT: preparing myself for everyone's response "but muh pet was rescued"

I want a Pug..

agree, everyone should have a pet. luv my 2 cats.

I have a pet turtle that I've had for almost 10 years now

Everybody should have a pet, but not everybody is able to take care of a pet.
Only people who are well informed and prepared to care for a pet should own one.

I want a human pet that helps me clean around the house