I have pets right now but they were not by choice.
Years ago my sister picked up a cat. She noticed a sign on the side of the road for free cats. She went in and picked up one. My sister was living home at the time and my step father is not a fan of cats at all. So my wife and I took it.
I should mention I didn't want a cat, I wanted dogs but I wanted to wait till I bought a house. In the end we had two cats, one went missing a few years ago. We still have the first on. I still don't want cats but I love mine.
We also have a fish that the babysitter bought the kids. I wasn't happy about it because I'm the one that did all of the cleaning and feeding for the last one. So my wife has been taking care of the fish.
For me, dogs will have to wait. Our cat wouldn't like it and I want a much bigger yard before I bring dogs into the family.