Pets You Will and Will Not Own.....

Dizzy

Sit! Good dog.
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#41
Put me in the would have had anything as a kid camp (and did), but now I'm very picky camp!!

Happy with dogs. Might own a cat, but unlikely as OH hates them.... Maybe chickens one day... Maybe guinea pigs... I'd like a goat or 2 one day :)
 

AllieMackie

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#42
Pets I would own/have owned:
dogs
cats
ferrets
small reptiles
hermit crabs

Pets I would not own/not own again:

guinea pigs (not for me)
venomous anything
snakes, except maybe a ball python
anything exotic (I know chins and ferrets theoretically count, but)
birds
chinchillas (Yuffie is not normal, and that's why I adore her. I could never have a chin like her again.)
 

CaliTerp07

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#43
Honestly, I think the only animal we'll ever have going forward is a dog. DH and I are allergic to cats, and anything in a cage/tank doesn't appeal to me.
 

~Dixie's_Mom~

♥Chloe & Violet♥
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#44
Would own:

Dogs
Cats
Ferrets
Rabbits
Rats
Fish
Guinea Pigs
Chinchillas (if I could figure out a way to stop them from throwing their poo out of the cage!)
Mini horse/Pot Bellied pig/Goat/etc

Wouldn't own:

Birds
Reptiles (MAYBE but not likely)
Probably not a horse, but maybe
Bugs (Centipedes, Roaches, etc)
Spiders (omg. Just...no.)

Anything else is a maybe (unless I've forgotten something) but not something I would seek out.
 

Cthulhu7

Mitch & Erin
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#45
I really want a bearded dragon.

I used to want an owl or octopus.

Oh and i gave a friend who had a prairie dog. It's adorable
 

*blackrose

"I'm kupo for kupo nuts!"
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#46
I'd own a cat again if it was still like when I was a kid and they were indoor/outdoor animals. Our cat Rocky went in and out when he wanted, and we only had a litter box for when we were away overnight (and I'm sure he was ticked beyond belief to be in). I like cats, but I don't do litter boxes on a regular basis. And it is pretty much a "no" to let cats outside these days. I've also never loved the cats I've known who are indoor cats as much. Barn cats, indoor/outdoor cats - very different in my experiences than strictly indoor.
See, that's how I am, too. All of our current cats are indoor/outdoor. The girls prefer to be outside almost all the time except for very brief, "Let me in and pet me!!!" times. We tried to transition Lilly to an indoor home and she HATED it. She was trying to launch through windows, peeing everywhere, meowing non stop...so she's back here now as a happy outside kitty. Mikey and Apollo go in and out as they please. Apollo was raised indoors so he is only out for maybe 12 hours of the day/night, whereas Mikey was raised outside so he is only in for maybe four hours or so.

That's how I'd own cats if given the choice. Mike is allergic, too, so that's the only way it would work anyways. But I refuse to have cats that go outdoors if it is anything less than safe for them...so no main roads, no loose dogs, no dangerous predators, no cars, and they better have a safe/dry/warm/cool place to go if needed, fed regularly, given vet care regularly, and have a fresh supply of water.
 

k9krazee

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#47
I only really want ONE dog. Well, "I" don't want one dog, but my work, lifestyle and boyfriend choices made the decision for me.

Even that might be difficult, my OH and I like completely different kinds of dogs for completely different reasons...it's making it difficult to choose a dog/breed that will work for both of us.

I've had my fair share of rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, ferrets, fish, geckos....I have no desire to own them again.

Cats...I'm on the fence, I love them, always had multiple, but don't really need to have one in the future.
 

~Jessie~

Chihuahua Power!
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#48
Currently own:

Dogs
Sugar Gliders
Salt water fish and coral (Ian's)

Would Own

Dogs
Sugar Gliders
Fennec Fox (my favorite animal ever, and would LOVE to own one in the future)
Salt water fish and creatures
Snakes (possibly)
Crested Geckos (possibly)

Would never own

Hamsters/gerbils/mice, etc.
Birds
Chinchillas (had them before and the juice wasn't worth the squeeze for me!)
Monkeys
Cats
Guinea Pigs (allergic!)
Rabbits
 

Romy

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#49
My objection to salt water aquatics is entirely a moral one. I don't think it's right to take a wild animal minding it's own business- poison it- throw it in a baggie and fly it to the other side of the world to sit in a dentist's office or hotel lobby in the process killing 50% of the animals taken from the ocean. Currently about 90% of the world's salt water aquarium fish that make it to market are wild caught and most die a horrible death before even getting to a crappy petco tank. Not that there are any guarantees in the ocean - after all fish eat other fish all the time but certainly the ability to live their natural life cycle seems like it should be a given over living their life as a novelty item.

Definitely agree with you on that. I think that's why Petsmart refuses to stock saltwater animals?

My uncle has a giant saltwater aquarium which he stocks with with little dudes he picks up diving in puget sound. From what I can tell he cycles some of them out periodically. He did have an octopus for a couple years, but she was female so he found her a nice place in saltwater park and released her when she got mature. Since then he just sticks to fish and shrimp because it was impossible to keep tank mates with an octopus.
 

stardogs

Behavior Nerd
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#50
So glad I'm not the only one with a blanket "no animals that poop in the house" guideline for pet ownership! LOL I do enjoy some house poopers, but maintaining litterboxes and cages is just not for me.

There are a number of animals I've considered owning that would stay outside and that's a bit different (horses, sheep, barn cats).
 
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#51
Anything dogs I live with would consider game. It just doesn't seem fair to me.

Goats. Cute, but Ferd has definitely cured any desire I might ever have to live with a goat.

I doubt I'd ever own a horse. Really the only livestock types I could see having would be Highland cattle, but I've pretty well had my fill of keeping livestock.

There are a few birds I would enjoy living with, an African Grey, raven, and I could get into falconry.
 

~Jessie~

Chihuahua Power!
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#52
I don't think that keeping saltwater fish and creatures is immoral.

Petco (at least the 10+ in our area) doesn't sell saltwater fish anymore, and Petsmart never has. The only places to get saltwater fish are specific aquarium stores, which are few and far between in this area. All of our fish have come from the same store which really cares about their fish and livestock.

There are a few fish I find immoral to keep- mainly the ones that can't survive long term in an aquarium. Moorish idols, cleaner wrasse, naso tangs, etc, etc.. MOST fish caught for the aquarium trade are VERY plentiful in the wild. Most of our corals are aquacultured, meaning they are "fragged" from other growing corals that haven't been "in the wild" for years.

Our clownfish have been with us for 3-4 years now. We traded in our lion that we had for almost 3 years. Before most fish stores in our area will sell fish/coral, they ask about your tank size, lighting, and filtration. Many of the fish store owners are VERY active in the salt water aquarium world.

Besides, it's not like fish have intense needs like dogs. Proper tank size, proper nutrition, rocks to swim in and out of... they pretty much have it made.
 

monkeys23

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#53
Definitely
  • Dogs - and I'm pretty definitive on what types suit me... I believe I'll be staying within that excepting maybe an RR or Boerboel someday.
  • Cats - though I'd prefer not to have more than 2 at a time again, cat drama is ridiculous. If I don't live somewhere safe for the cat to be indoor/outdoor I may wait to get another after Missy passes.
  • Horses - I really miss having one, but its not the right time financially to get another yet. If I owned property I would have by now because I can pretty much do everything myself, but boarding is expensive.

Non-pet animals I would own
*pretty much only if raised for food/profit on a ranch I owned that would support raising grass/hay fed animals. 'Cause not all pasture is created equal. And other than bitesports my main interest in dog training lies in herding, so it'd be handy to have livestock to do so. :)
  • Cattle - probably mostly Simmental cross cows with Angus or Limousine bulls like my parents mainly have. The one Solaire we have is our only nasty cow. Not a fan!
  • Sheep - I like sheep, but they are lot more high maintenance than cattle. I'd have Dorset or Dorset/Columbia cross ewes with a Columbia ram to breed replacements and a Hampshire ram for better meat lambs, similar to my stepdad's breeding program. Though my own ewe in their herd is Dorset/Columbia on her mom's side and Hampshire on her dad's side. We don't usually keep smut face (dark speckles) ewe lambs, but I raised Koalie after her mom died when she was 14 days old and used her as my backup in 4-H... since we were all so attached she stayed with us. She's old for a sheep! We kept one of her daughters too, she's also a nice producer. I really dislike Suffolk sheep, they are a PITA! I'm not overly fond of the hair sheep that many herding dog folks keep either. Just not my cup of tea I guess!

Maybes
  • Betta - I really loved the ones I had in the past, but honestly it was really upsetting when my cat figured out how to open the tank and killed Scrappy. :(
  • Rabbits - I loved my pet bunny I had as a kid, but omg it sucks cleaning cages. And the dogs I like would love to eat them... So definitely not pet bunny in the house, but I won't rule out small scale breeding for dog/human food if I had the property/time/cash to do so.
  • Chickens/Ducks - It would be a lot cheaper and healthier to raise my own egg/meat birds for the dogs/cat and I.

Pigs and goats creep me the hell out. Pigs because of the book Hannibal and I'm not sure why goats creep me out, lol.
 

Toller_08

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#54
Honestly, I'm a dog person all the way. I love other kinds of pets but I don't really have any desire to own anything other than dogs myself. Maybe a cat one day but probably not. I've always wanted a horse, but I don't know that that's very realistic. Other than those two very slim maybes, I will just have dogs.
 

JessLough

Love My Mutt
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#55
Can I just say how happy it makes me to see ferrets on so many do not want lists? :D

Also, I Refuse to believe PetSmart won't carry salt water fish because of them not thinking selling them is right. Come on... It's PetSmart. I think it has more to do with them knowing anybody going to Petsmart for a fish won't pay that much
 

PWCorgi

Priscilla Winifred Corgi
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#56
Also, I Refuse to believe PetSmart won't carry salt water fish because of them not thinking selling them is right. Come on... It's PetSmart. I think it has more to do with them knowing anybody going to Petsmart for a fish won't pay that much
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. With all the other animals they carry from mills, I doubt morals have anything to do with that decision :cool:
 

~Jessie~

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#57
I assume the reasoning against Petsmart/Petco not selling saltwater fish is the expense. I'm sure they kill a lot of fish which makes it not worth it to carry them. Even when Petco did carry saltwater fish, they were the cheapest and most basic fish. Even those looked terrible!

Here's an example of a good fish store... it's the one most of our fish/corals have come from:

http://www.oceandirectonline.com/

We have over 5000 gallons of just saltwater fish holding systems. We get fish shipments in every week (sometimes twice a week!), so we will always be stocked up when you come in. Like our corals, we buy fish from everywhere in the world, and only fish that are MAC certified (Marine Aquarium Council). What that means to you is that every fish that we carry in our store has been hand caught and not captured in unethical ways. It not only is a moral decision on our part, but also guarantees us that the fish you might take home for your new pet is the healthiest that the industry can offer you.
I would NEVER buy anything saltwater related at a chain petstore. We are very careful about where our livestock comes from- we even use a quarantine tank before introducing anything to our main tank!
 

Romy

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#58
Also, I Refuse to believe PetSmart won't carry salt water fish because of them not thinking selling them is right. Come on... It's PetSmart. I think it has more to do with them knowing anybody going to Petsmart for a fish won't pay that much
Petsmart's corporate policy is to not carry any wild caught animals, so yeah, in a way it IS because they don't think it's moral. The supply of captive bred saltwater fish is so small, the supply so inconsistent, and captive bred are so expensive compared to their competitors wild caught saltwater fish, it just isn't profitable to carry them period.

ETA: Petco does still carry saltwater fish. You can't use the names of the companies interchangeably because they are in fact, different companies.
 

JessLough

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#59
Petsmart's corporate policy is to not carry any wild caught animals, so yeah, in a way it IS because they don't think it's moral. The supply of captive bred saltwater fish is so small, the supply so inconsistent, and captive bred are so expensive compared to their competitors wild caught saltwater fish, it just isn't profitable to carry them period.

ETA: Petco does still carry saltwater fish. You can't use the names of the companies interchangeably because they are in fact, different companies.
Exactly. When it comes down to it, they dont carry it for the money. Not because they actually care about what happens to the fish.

Jessie wasn't using the names interchangeably. She wa saying neither store around there sells saltwater fish.
 

Romy

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#60
I assume the reasoning against Petsmart/Petco not selling saltwater fish is the expense. I'm sure they kill a lot of fish which makes it not worth it to carry them. Even when Petco did carry saltwater fish, they were the cheapest and most basic fish. Even those looked terrible!
^^^ When someone is discussing corporate policy vs. the decisions of a single local manager, this is using them interchangeably.

And yes, when a corporate body that profits in selling animals as companions decides that they will not stock animals who are wild caught, I would say that is a moral decision vs. a $$$ one. Wild caught reptiles alone, even with their high mortality rates, are vastly cheaper than captive bred.

If there was a consistent supply of captive bred saltwater fish, I have no doubt they would carry them as well. Part of being a big chain store is they need suppliers who can supply pretty much on demand in large quantities. That doesn't happen with saltwater fish. It doesn't even happen on a big enough scale to keep small hobbyist shops stocked.

Not saying I love Petsmart, but not every corporation makes every decision they operate on based purely on $$$.
 

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