Good Pets and Bad Pets

[penguinslovedw]

I've started this thread because A) I'm just curious to see what kind of furry and non-furry beasts the mutant posters have welcomed into their families and B) As the examples below will show, I have my doubts as to whether or not people can tell the difference between a Good Pet and Bad Pet.

Good Pet
Our family has always had at least 4-5 cats in our house at all times, but occasionally we have had a dog. One dog was Holly. Holly was a mutt and just about the sweetest dog to ever live. If anyone wants to look for evidence that dogs can go to heaven, Holly would be a good place to start.
Holly had BIG BROWN EYES. You would be sitting at the table, eating breakfast, and Holly would put her head in your lap and look up at you with her BIG BROWN EYES. You would look down into her BIG BROWN EYES and before you knew it, Holly would be eating all your bacon and eggs.

We had to put Holly down a few months ago. She had been sick for a long time, so we were a prepared and everything. But it still hurt a lot.
Holly was a Good Pet.

Bad Pet
An old high-school friend of mine, we'll call her Alice, started her sophomore year at university. She was told that her new roommate had a pet snake, and was she okay with that? Alice figured it was like a little garter snake in a terrarium or something so, trusting little soul that she is, she said that would be fine. Come Moving Day she finds out that her roommate, let's call her Elvira, did in fact have an 8-foot python named Sweetums (yes, like the Muppet). Elvira actually slept with Sweetums at night.
Sweetums was fairly sedantary, so Alice didn't worry too much. She even learned proper care of Sweetums for when Elvira went on vacation with her family. After a couple weeks, she noticed that Sweetums was not eating his mice, and was actually getting thicker and thicker in the middle of his body. She called Elvira, who asked her to take the snake to the vet to check him out.

Long story short, it turns out that Sweetums had been fasting and sizing Alice up in order to eat her. Alice left the future star of "Snakes on a Plane 2" at the vet, and Elvira's family decided to put Sweetums down when they got back from vacation.
Sweetums was a Bad Pet.

So let's review: Good Pets are sweet and wonderful creatures that enhance the quality of your life whereas Bad Pets are ones that try to eat you.

[StarOpal]

My parents, and then my brothers and myself, were rescuers. We'd find them or get them from the pound, clean them up, get their shots, get them fixed, nurse them back to health, train them, and find good homes or keep them.

We always had a lot of animals: Dogs (millions of 'em!), Cats (thousands!), birds, fish, you name it we had it. And I could sit here and tell you all their names, they were all great pets.

Suzie III, a miniature schnauzer, was the first dog that was mine. She wasn't too bright, but she was sweet and took care of me. We got her when I was little and going through a sleep walking phase, I'd wake up to find her asleep across my legs. "Suzie, it's okay, I'm awake. Ugh, geroff! " She also played mother to our finds. And, I swear, she thought she was the size of a Great Dane. Best. Dog. Ever.

[Hucklebubba]

I've had a number of good pets in my day, but I'm going to forego them all in favor of talking about one bad one that somebody else had.

My brother's ex-wife used to have a ferret. Which, for the uninitiated, is sort of an odd compromise between cat and rodent; likely saddled with self-loathing issues arising therefrom, which may account for their being tiny pointless bastards.

The two differing worlds which the ferret kind-of resembles both of figure heavily into its behavior as well, as it combines the cold indifference of a feline with the charm and functionality of vermin.

Thinking about getting a cat, but troubled by the species' track record of non-total hostility? Unnerved by the notion of a pet that will at least pretend to like you when it wants food? Or could it be that you already have a pet rock, but you're wondering if maybe there's something out there that will return your affection even less?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the ferret is for you, my friend! They avoid you! They hiss! And if you're really lucky, you may even get bitten! Oh frumptuous day!

Anyway, the ex has since upgraded to a python (surprise!), and by this point has probably upgraded from that as well. The logical next pet would be either a vial of Sarin or a brown bear with a chainsaw for a head, but I wouldn't be surprised if she's skipped both and gone straight for the cacodemon.

[bigtuna]

when i was but a wee lad, my parents had a chihuahua named Beans. Beans was kind of cute, but here's the thing. in addition to being a small, ugly chihuahua, she was also addicted to nicotine.

true story.

she used to steal cigarette butts from the ash trays, take them under the couch and suck on them until they were all shrivelled and dry. so my parents started putting ash trays in locations she couldn't reach them, and emptying them more frequently, so she couldn't get her fix, which made her more vicious, and eventually we had to get rid of her.

[BlackCatWhiteCat]

The nicotine addicted chihuahua is hilarious! I've never heard of anything like that before, but that isn't entirely surprising. I swear all dogs are addicted to chocolate, which is more immediately lethal. I firmly believe that between these vices and the more stupid pasttime of chasing the tires of something that's moving at 55 mph, dogs have a death wish (which possibly steams from being dressed up in humiliating clown costumes and ordered to dance).

Kaleb, I get the feeling you don't care for felines. So sad! As should be obvious by my username I have two cats, a black one and a white one. They're my first indoor cats, but I had outdoor cats (and two dogs) for all my life. I lived next to a highway, so use your imagination as to what happened to ALL of my childhood pets. Trauma is fun, kids!

But I digress! My two cats are fantastic pets. They are completely attached to me and have to be wherever I am. They are always lying near me or on me, love to play, and the black kitty even fetches. I went through a lot of hard times soon after I got my cats and they seemed to know whenever I was feeling my lowest and would stick right by my side and let themselves be petted and hugged tight until I felt better. In a lifestyle where I find myelf alone in the house for months at a time, its invaluable to have a pet. Just their presence makes me feel less afraid at night. When I hear something go bump I can just blame it on the cat and go back to sleep.

EDIT: Oh, and for a bad pet? Siamese cat. Every time. It's like someone decided to make a pet bred from one of Satan's minions and a banshee.