I know all about your frustration! Growing up, we were never allowed to have pets beyond fish & hermit crabs. Not to knock crabs or anything, but they are hardly cuddly and you can't take fish for walks! My Dad just never understood, and finally 2 years before I moved out I begged & pleaded for a parakeet. One of my first questions to Mark was "are you a cat person or a dog person?" I was horrified when he said he was a cat person, but never really thought about or was interested in having a pet. I have been working on him since that day, and we have had 2 hamsters, a parakeet, a cockatiel, a cat and a dog!! And now we are working on a bunny! And Mark loves every single one of our critters! He cried when our hamsters died, and he plays with the dog, and gives tons of attention to the cat. He just needed a LOT of warming up to the idea!

So hang in there, and when you move out you make your own decisions--even to have a zoo if that is what you want!