8 Best Fantasy Pets
I’m sitting here in my little writing nook, which is to say my computer desk shoved in the corner of our den where it fits, and enjoying a very cozy day off from my day job with one cat on my lap and the other snuggled up on the other side of the room in a little blanket nest on the couch. It’s lovely.
It’s also got me thinking about how lovely it would also be if I were doing exactly this at a writing desk in a fantasy setting. You know, one of the idealized and romanticized settings. Like Bilbo in his hobbit hole where we don’t ask inconvenient questions like how he keeps it from smelling musty or how he manages bathroom needs. Certainly not a more gritty and realistic setting like “Game of Thrones” where everyone is diseased and hasn’t bathed in seven months. That’s one of the biggest fantasies of the fantasy genre; that medieval settings are actually great and not rashy.
One of the best ways to make the settings seem so lovely is the inclusion of a fantasy pet. There are many, especially when you broaden the definition of “fantasy” to include things like Pokemon. Loose fit, certainly, but I think it ought to count since Pokemon does a good job of blending fantasy, modern settings, and sci-fi in a lot of ways. Even without those pocket monsters, though, there are tons of fantasy pets that all of us wish we could enjoy.
So that’s what I’m doing here; creating a list that encompasses the imaginary menagerie (great name for a shop or something, like maybe a squishmallow stall at the mall) that I wish I could have!
8 Best Fantasy Pets
1. Cats
I’m starting off with cats because they’re a fantasy pet that we can actually have in real life. Arguably, that makes them the best. Also, cats have such good personalities. Anyone who thinks cats are dull just hasn’t spent enough time watching them. Even my old man cat with three legs and slowly progressing kidney disease shows a ton of spunk as he sleeps all day long. The number of irritated side-eyes he gives me every day when I’m doting on him too much or the way he will calmly put a paw on my face and push when he’s tired of me holding him (usually within thirty seconds of picking him up) is enough to put any teenager to shame. But even with the attitude comes a strong dose of empathy. Both cats in my home are known to find me or my partner at our lowest moments, dog days of sickness or just feeling low and depressed, and snuggling with us, as if to say that they wish to absorb our bad to help make room for a little more good.
Cats are magical in real life and so are possibly the best fantasy pets.
2. Owls
When I first moved into the city I live in now, I was worried I’d be detached from nature. It was my first time living in a city this big and wasn’t so sure. Imagine my excitement when, within that first year, I heard the call of a barred owl in one of the fifteen trees right outside my apartment window at four in the morning. Owls are the right combination of solitary to be findable, but still uncommon for us. If you add the idea that they could also be carrier pigeons or somehow tapped into magical energy, you’ve got yourself a properly whimsical pet. I think it adds to the imagined mystique that they would be great as the type of pet that, even though they’re yours, would be off doing there own thing, making it still special when they pop in to say hi.
Again, bonus points for being a real creature that we could conceivably have as a real pet, though they aren’t quite as convenient as cats.
3. Wolf
Wolves are really only good as fantasy pets. They exist in real life but would probably be dangerous for us. I know, I know, we did tame wolves to make dogs. But that’s a generational process, so you can’t just find a wolf in real life and think it’ll be hunky dory. Still, within a fantasy setting, imagine having a pet with the loyalty of a retriever but the bulk of leopard and the protectiveness of a mamma bear. No wonder everyone was obsessed with huskies after Game of Thrones came out. Pro tip, though: don’t get a husky just because they look cool. They have a lot of sass and take a lot of work. Get a lab instead.
You can get a dog as a facsimile of a fantasy wolf, but unless it’s a malamute or something, we’re starting to get into the unobtainable pets, which makes them cooler but less “best” since you can’t actually have them.
4. Arcanine
Okay, so I am going full Pokemon on this list. So sue me!
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Look, it’s a giant dog that you can ride like a horse with tiger stripes and can breathe fire! Don’t act like that isn’t one of the most radical things ever! I want one so bad! Just let me dream about this one!
5. Phoenix
Lots of pros in the comparison chart for these guys. Different lores give them different unique traits, but all agree on the reborn from ashes thing and bright coloring. I mean, even if for no other reason, the feathers are sick. Like a DLC skin pack for a parrot. Then add the fact that you never have to deal with the mourning over the loss of a pet. The only problem is the flip side of that coin; knowing that you’ll die and the bird will have to deal with the loss of you. But we’re also talking about fantasy settings so we can come up with a lot of ways to subvert that sad thought and move past it. So that’s neat.
Yeah, if I can’t have an Arcanine I will also accept a Phoenix.
6. Hippogriff / Griffin
I’m making these guys share an entry because they’re super similar. It’s like the difference between a lifted pickup truck and an armored SUV. Both will get you where you’re going and look pretty tough doing it, just with slightly different aesthetics. Personally, I lean Griffin because lions are super cool and their manes lend for more of a full beard feather ruffle rather than just a mohawk. Though I’ll grant that details like that are very up to interpretation. Look, let’s all just agree that a mount that has the head of an eagle is pretty awesome and we’d all be stoked to have one as a companion.
I’d name mine Gale if it was a boy or Gladys if it were a girl.
7. Talking Animals
This one might be cheating. I acknowledge that. But so many fantasy worlds include some form of talking critter that’s otherwise, no different than their real-world counterparts. It’s a trope all on it’s own and is a really convenient way to make sure we get super attached to something that’s otherwise largely their for aesthetic purposes. I mean, is there any instance of a talking animal companion that couldn’t be replaced with just some dude without impacting the story, only the general vibes?
At any rate, any creature but fully sentient so you can have both emotional connections and hilarious and anecdotal conversations is an instant “yes please” on a scale of one to ten on fantasy pets I’d love to have.
8. Dragon
What? Did you think I wouldn’t include Toothless on this list? Get real.
A pet dragon would be so sweet. I mean, talk about OP, am I right? Yeah yeah, I know, a lot of lore gives dragons enough autonomy that they wouldn’t count as “pets” per se. But talk to the right middle school girl and they’d say the same about trying to “own” a horse. The reality is that we’d all lose our minds if we could be Eragon or Daenerys. For better or for worse we all want a dragon and we all want to be the only one with a dragon.
I’d name mine Charizard. Boy or girl.
In Conclusion
Like, comment, and provide a great life for your favorite fantasy pet! Despite this list, I actually will allow that there are no wrong answers for this one. Pets are a very personal choice and as long as you care for it properly so it gets to be happy and loved you can pick whatever fantasy creature you want.
As long as you admit that cats are tied for it as the best. That one is for my kitties who definitely aren’t watching over my shoulder as I write this and threatening to eat all of my plants if I don’t tell the whole, unmitigated truth that they’re the best creatures to ever exist and can never be bested by anything else.
