We had a pool in North Carolina for 8 years and I found that it didn't require as much maintenance as I thought it would. I had planned to have another one when we moved to New Hampshire, but we moved to mountains in the woods where there is wildlife and so I reconsidered. One year, when we were opening the pool for the season, we found a squirrel. One of my cats used to like to bat at the water and fell in once. He was terrified and went nuts clawing at my husband when he tried to rescue him. My dog never tried to go in the water. I know that some people let their dogs swim in their pool, but I wouldn't encourage that. I think it's a great idea to get a pool. You'll enjoy having it.