As for the Topic of the Day...
Well...
My brothers and I had goldfish and hamsters and gerbils growing up... Alas, those types of pets aren't really known for their longevity, so...
We did have two dogs. One - and I can't even remember the name or breed - lasted only a few days in our household: that was when my mom discovered that she was allergic to dogs. Well, at least their dander. So, dog #2 came along: a poodle. Her name was Princess. Alas, she was a "princess" in name only. She was yappy and hyper - which poodles tend to be - but she also had a tendency to dig under our backyard fence and run away and/or around the neighborhood. She also got very aggressive around African-Americans. Very aggressive. And after she bit one of our neighbor's kids for the second time, well... -My mom had picked up Princess from the pound, and we guessed that she had most likely had been mistreated by her previous owners. I believe Princess stayed with us for two months before my Mom brought her back to the pound. It was just too hard to take good care of her with two parents working full-time and four boys - ages 6-9 - being, well, ages 6-9.