"Child of mine, you may not have a pet. They are smelly and they poop and you will not take care of it." You see their point, but you still mope around and ask for one for every holiday (even Arbour Day) every year and you still don't get one. Well you grow up a little and you go off to college and you get a part time job and then do you know what you do? You stick it to the man and go out and buy yourself a fuzzy new hamster. And then you have to feed it and clean up after it...but at least you got what you wanted and that is what is important. Too bad they are nocturnal. I'll never get to sleep tonight.