Good pics inside the house.... use flash, or get a tripod and get your animals to sit very, very still Another tip is to take pictures near an open door or window on a sunny day. Otherwise, you won't get an un-blurry picture indoors without flash.

As for whether it is a good camera or not... I'm not sure. Try searching google for some reviews... some popular digicam sites are

http://dpreview.com
http://stevesdigicams.com

And just play around with it! You'll learn it fast enough! When it doubt, just use the "auto" mode

EDIT: Also forgot to add, if you are taking pictures indoors WITHOUT flash, and you zoom in, try stabilizing the camera on a hard surface. Otherwise, when you zoom, shake is enhanced a lot more. So don't use it without flash, or get a tripod lol