It's Gotta Suck

I'm sure that you can imagine that with four kids (usually 5 or 6) and a dog running around here all day, this house gets mighty dirty. Now, I'm not so good at keeping up with that as it is. But, now our vacuum has officially died. It actually still sucks, but the brush head no longer works.

So, we're in the market for a new vacuum. We especially need one that will pick up lots of dog fur.

We don't mind spending a bit of money, as we really want to get a quality product that will last us a while.

So, this is a plea for help. Do you have a really good vacuum? What are its pros and cons?

Or do you have a vacuum that you really hate and recommend against?

Even if you've never commented here, would you be so kind as to shimmy out of the woodwork and help us out?

Thanks.