We just bought a Kenmore Progressive (bagless-$280 on sale!) from Sears about 2 months ago and it has been awesome! We talked to the guy there and he also has pets, a long haired persian and a golden. He says he's had his for a few years now and nothing has happened to it, and it picks up great. And he's right.
We were like everyone else, buying a vacum cleaner at LEAST 2X/yr. So someone came along selling vacums, almost a $1500 vacumn! Well we must have really been impressed because we bought it, turns out it's ok, but the distributor that worked this area is no longer here and we would have to drive out of state or send it to the company to be fixed, and of course, after 2.5 yrs, it need to be fixed. Sooo....make a long story short, I really like my Kenmore and I got the extended warenty ($30 I think) and I have 2 yrs to tear it up plus the year already on it! The guy said, just take it to Sear repair center (10 min away!) and they fix it for free or give you a new one! You can't beat that!