Did they have the model with the pet brush? My recommendation comes from a vacuum repair tech who has spent decades doing that job. His short of it was: bagless sucks (empties dust back into the room), go bagged. Miele is the best for overall performance and reliability. Shark are terrible for that, longevity is suspect.
I've got a pet brush attatchment but they both absolutely hate it - they both are scared of the vacum cleaner - so it remains unused.
I thought of a Miele but the upright was cumbersome compared to the Shark's "liftaway" design - which is great for cleaning under beds etc - and I've never liked hauling cylinder vacuums around, I find the Shark really easy to use and excellent for getting into tight spaces
For getting the considerable fur deposits out of my carpet I find it great - by far better than the Dyson's and Vax's, I've also got a car clean kit for it which comes with numerous little attatchments for cleaning the inside of the car which great for getting into tight spots in the car.
As for longevity I'm not particularly concerned, it comes with a 5 year warranty - which is 3 more than Miele on Vacum cleaners.
Miele are good, I don't doubt that for a moment, but thus far I'm very impressed with the Shark, my only gripe is the canister could be bigger - I have to empty it after each room - although thats probably more down to the sheer volume of fur it has to ingest!
