Photograph: Courtesy of Revision Home

Perhaps it's because I never had a pet growing up (poor me), or maybe it's because I don't really want the responsibility of a pet now that I'm an adult (please don't think less of me) that I find myself attracted to decorative pets.

Currently, I live with a wooden horse head, a bronze peacock, and two ceramic pigs.

Several months ago, I was very tempted to drop a few hundred smackers on a 24-inch-tall wooden hippo at one of Revision Home's fabulous shopping parties (see the little beast in the right corner of the photo above), but I decided against it.

Just the other day, I was thinking about that hippo again, and decided to do a web search. Turns out leather (not wood) animal foot stools made by Dimitri Omersa were a thing in the 1960s in London. Omersa had an excusive deal with Liberty on Regent Street until the 1970s, and now these vintage creatures can still be found at antique shops (look for the Liberty stamp on the underside of an ear).

Today, you can find new versions of these same animals online at North River Outfitter (a hippo will set you back $395), and they are still made in Lincolnshire, England.

While on the hunt for more pets, I also came across a cute resin black sheep at Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams.

Should I be getting a cat or something?