Re: Domestic dogs/cats
I would not ever live in a place that had an indoor animal.
Been there, done that, once. As much as we loved that dog, and miss him now that he's dead, I would not ever again have an indoor animal.
It's not because of parasites, though. I think you can deworm animals same as humans. And as long as you keep good animal hygiene, the little pests shouldn't be a problem.
I just think it's disgusting. Whenever I go into the home of someone who has an indoor pet, I am disgusted. There's a certain smell. They can never get rid of ALL the hair. Our dog could only come into the back two rooms of our house- the breakfast room and kitchen. It's all hard surfaces in there, easy to clean up. He couldn't lie on our beds or anything.
I know people say that animals are so clean, they keep good hygiene, etc. Now, if I could have a proper open-air home in a warm climate, where large windows were open year-round, then perhaps an animal wouldn't be so bad. But living in a closed environment with an animal seems filthy and gross to me. Heck, just humans living in a closed environment is bad enough! (By the way, I'm not a clean freak or a sterilize everything kind of person - far from it).
Pet lovers everywhere will disagree, but that's my stand. It's not for me.
Back to your question, though, it wouldn't be because of parasites.
parasites aren't really an issue - I think you've gotten some great answers about that.