Along with unconditional love, animals can unfortunately bring a variety of unpleasant smells into your home — everything from the odor of wet dog to the acrid stench of cat urine to the disgusting aroma of skunk spray. However, there are steps you can take to counter these less appealing aspects of pet ownership. For cleaning tips, see About.com’s Frugal Living: Cleaning Pet Accidents.

Finally, considering the fact that San Francisco lies in an earthquake zone, you might want to have a look through the ACC’s guide, “Preparing Your Pet/s For A Disaster.” Forces larger than a teething puppy could end up causing the real damage to your home.