10 Pets My Family Will Never Own
We are a dog family. My husband and I both grew up with them and we are both allergic to cats. The decision of what kind of pet we would have was easily reached.
Anders loves our border collie, but occasionally, after spending an afternoon pouring over an animal book or conversing with a friend at school whose family pet is less traditional, he questions why we don’t own something more exotic.
While at some point I may be convinced to take on a goldfish or two, I’m pretty resolute in my list of animals we will never own.
Here are 10 creatures we won’t be welcoming home:
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Ants
Any creature that requires its own farm is a no in my book. Sorry, kids. Photo credit: Flickr.
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Exotic Bird
I already have two creatures I am inadvertently teaching curse words. Having a bird squawk back my foul language too? No thank you. Photo credit: Stock.xchng.
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Baby Chick
Sure they look cute, but they grow into chickens hell bent on pecking your eyes out while you sleep. At least, that's what I tell my kid when he begs for one each Easter. Don't judge.
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Iguana
My son's reason for wanting an iguana and my reason for declaring we will never own one is the same. They can detach their tails. Forcing my kid to part with his collection of saved iguana tales? Not on my life list. Photo credit: Flickr.
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Monkey
We have a strict "no pets that require diaper changing" policy in our home. Photo credit: Stock.xchng.
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Pig
I like my pot-bellies where they belong -- on babies and my husband. Photo credit: Flickr.
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Rat
Does this one even need explanation?Photo credit: Flickr.
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Boa Constrictor
If the kids develop an urge to be squeezed to death I'll take them to visit their great aunt Martha. At least she won't swallow them whole afterwards, but she does smell like mothballs. Photo credit: Stock.xchng
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Turtle
This creature just isn't cuddly enough to risk salmonella. Photo credit: Stock.xchng.
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Tarantula
Female tarantulas can live up to 20 years. Also, they have eight hairy legs and I hear they never shave. Photo credit: Flickr.
What pet would you never consider buying for your kids?
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Is it just me or does this guy look alot like WALLEE?
And see, I ‘d NEVER, EVER< EVER in any formation, way shape or form, have a dog or cat. My budgies are just fine with me.
I had a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig growing up and it was pretty cool. It was actually litter box trained, and did tricks like a dog (sit, stay, fetch). When it gt too big for the house – even though we were told it wouldn’t because this type of pig is supposed to stay dog-size – it got o live outside. Until our neighbor got a male pig and ours kept breaking out to go see it, and she ended up just living there. We also had 3 dogs, a cat who pounced on anything that moved and so got sent to a farm – no, a real farm, we actually used to go visit it for years afterward – to deal with a mice problem in the barn, and a variety of small pets requiring cages. I will not buy my daughter any kind of rodent. Or a turtle. But snakes and spiders are OK, as long as her daddy helps her with the upkeep. I’m sorry, but I just can’t handle feeding one living creature to another (most snakes will only eat LIVE food).
Yes, as a matter of fact the rat does need an explanation! I just knew rat would be on the list because everyone has an automatic rat aversion even though they are the best pets. I have two and wouldn’t trade them for anything. They are just as smart and trainable as dogs and as cuddly as cats but don’t need as much upkeep as either one.
I have had 6 of the 10… lol