It’s widely believed that dogs and cats make the some of the best companion animals for humans in modern times, due to them being close to us for dozens of thousands of years, over many generations evolving both behavior and body-wise to make them more comfortable and compatible with humans.

Furthermore, while some people are indeed able to make all the correct accommodations for exotic animals and allow them to live a good and happy life, it is without doubt that for an average person, keeping such a pet is at best detrimental to the animal’s physical and mental wellbeing and at worst actively dangerous for both the human and the animal involved.

The question I want to ask is that if potentially any animal could be made as compatible with humans as cats and dogs are, who’d you keep as a pet? Personally, for me it would be either a fox cause just find their noises and looks neat or a hyena, because of them being an unusual example of a feliform that is displaying behavior usually not found in canid carnivores. They also look cool I guess.

Monkey. Imagine having a little servant :)

A grizzly bear.
No brainer.

A beaver. I love them, they're so cute and, have you ever heard the noises they make?

Holley Muraco on YouTube runs a beaver sanctuary with plenty of videos.

Komodo Dragon. Extra protection.

Anurognathus

Just look at em.

Tigers are very cool and friend-shaped. It shall be my stripey cat friend :3

Komodo dragon. I would give it a pink rhinestone collar and stick a pink little bow on it's head.

The only two exotics I've met that I've gone "I get the appeal of having this in your house" are crows and fennec foxes. Crows are just neat little buddies and if you've only ever seen fennecs in photos- they're even cuter in person.

I say a chinchilla or A hare.

Anomalocaris basically (I wish I could revive them back to life…) 🥺

Any sort of whale. I would probably have an unusually large garden, and whales are quite sociable.

I know some people already have sugar gliders but that could be a nice pet to have. Fox, cheetah or wolf could also be nice.

A leptictidium. And if they turn out to be not well-suited as pets, at least they'd be de-extinct.

does it have to be non-fictional?

A shrew
They’re adorable little critters

For a long time I wanted a snake. I already have a free deal with someone for a Ratsnake, but I won't get it until I make sure first I have all the accommodations settled first for it (which will take a while since those are expensive...)