definitely an octopus is not a pet i would recommend anyone getting. they are invertebrates and thus are very hard to keep. they are escape artists....being invertebrates, they do not have any bones in their body save for their beak. the beak is their mouth and is very sharp almost like a bird's beak. thus they can squeeze thru any opening as long as it is bigger than their beak. if the beak can fit thru, they can squeeze thru it. plus they have extremely short life spans.
i would highly recommend watching My Octopus Teacher on Netflix:
here is a marine biologist's review of the documentary:
and this is pretty cool from Harvard about it:
A panel of experts discuss the award-winning documentary “My Octopus Teacher” and the inner life of the octopus.
news.harvard.edu
and finally here is the story about the family:
where did the dad get the octopus from? they live in Oklahoma. i do not think the local pet store got it for them. plus the octopus is a California species.