Hedgehogs are definitely cute! Though be aware that Ferrets are quite a handful and tend to like stealing stuff! They do best on a raw meat diet.

I've got three animals of my own, one dog and two guinea pigs. I also run a small rescue for guinea pigs and I foster dogs. Animals are definitely very loving, an ear to hear your problems and a distraction. One of my favorite things is training foster dogs. I love training and it's fun to see how amazingly smart they are. It also makes them really good spokes animal for rescue dogs (That they can be just as well behaved and awesome than any other dog)