alright pet?

apparently there is a new breed of slug in the world. it can be up to two inches long and can sting!
thank goodness it can't fly, is all i can say. what a horrible world it would be if slugs were airborne.
imagine a slug landing on your lunch, or one circling around you menancingly like some wasps do. imagine walking merrily along the road and getting one in your eye! that happened to me recently with a fly - when i took my contact lense out it was splattered on it, much like it would have been on my windowscreen were i a car!
the new story about these new, super resilient slugs led me to think about our relationship with animals and why some of them make good pets – presumably because they are able to take, and sometimes return, our affection – and why some don't.
obviously you wouldn't want a hippo as a pet – too muddy, cumbersome and bad tempered (and can you imagine the breath) – but would you feel more inclined if, next time you went to see one at the zoo, it started wagging its tail and looking at you fondly while whimpering at you?
would you feel more kindly inclined toward a rat if next time you saw one it purred and came and rubbed affectionately round your ankles?
if you could teach a frog to give you a paw (leg?) would you like one as a pet to wheel out at dinner parties?
i could go on....