Fopinions February: Pets

[extrapenguin]

This Fopinions February is for delight, and originally meant to be on the 16th, but I had to be out of town for the weekend, so it comes late. Happy late birthday, delight's dog!

I currently live in an apartment where pets are forbidden, but I don't really care that much; may the pet-allowing apartments be for people who have/want to have pets. We never had pets per se while I was growing up – unlike all the neighbors, who had dogs – and I never wanted any, either. Partly I suppose it's not wanting to wake up to walk a dog and thinking "oh no what if I step on a cat"; partly I suppose being too recently off the farm in some respects. (Dogs are for hunting and cats are mousers. What are these housepets you speak of?) All in all, I am pet-neutral: I don't seek one out, but neither do I loathe them.

However! I did spend a lot of time with horses, which I really enjoyed. They're large and one can do stuff with them, from on top as well as from the ground. It's really clear why they were OP war machines back in the day, especially when one is riding a smart, athletic, and responsive one. They are also very expensive and time consuming, and I am currently not-rich and lazy.

Further into the realm of non-traditional pets, I have occasionally thought about getting a reptile of some sort, like a snake, but again: lazy. Even if a snake would be a nice noodle who doesn't require being taken for walks, merely a UV lamp to bask on and some food every now and then. However, I won't be in a place where I can sit down and expect to stay in the house for a decade plus (or even half that), so that's all best left in the realm of daydreams. (Especially given that I might need to move internationally, and importing snakes is not something I want to figure out the bureaucracy for.)

But fear not – I have a plush shark a meter long. Very good for hugging!

Comments

[sewn]

That shark looks lovely. Though the fact that they've got "the blue shark can ... hear your heartbeat even from afar" in the item description is killing me for some reason.

[extrapenguin]

The shark is very huggable! The item description is ... well, I can figure out what they were going for, but it is definitely very lol-worthy in some ways. Creepy stalker shark!

[trobadora]

OMG, the plush shark! :D

[extrapenguin]

It's very huggable! 10/10, would recommend.

[chromemuffin]

lol I can say, if you have a cat, it is more likely "am I going to wake up with the cat stepping on me", but that is a valid point. I like dogs and I have had one in the past, but I'd be hesitant about getting another unless I have a partner to share the dog walking duties with. They're also very high energy usually, which is the opposite of myself. Plus, it's difficult to go away and do things for long periods unless you have cool friends who will watch the pet and not accidentally kill it or terrorize it with their own...

I am disappointed that I have never seen that shark in all the times I went to IKEA. Do we not carry it in America or something. But IKEA plushies are very cuddly indeed; I have a small dog plush from there.

[extrapenguin]

You don't have plush sharks with the rest of the toys????? What is this shit. Apparently, IKEA thinks Americans don't deserve plush sharks.