As a child, I had fish (flushed 'em), snakes (buried 'em), hamsters (buried 'em), gerbils (buried 'em), guinea pigs (bred 'em), dogs (walked 'em), rabbits (lost 'em), and a cat (my parents buried him).
Now I've got my third (don't tell him) bird. They make great pets--they are intelligent, small, loud, messy, willful, expensive, and friendly. Furthermore, they don't have fur! [an error occurred while processing this directive]