I think technically speaking 'it' is always grammatically correct, but 'he'/'she' is also okay to use especially for a pet.

Personally I tend to use he/she as well (when I happen to discuss my dog in English, which isn't too common as a non-native speaker)

Nothing would have to be a law if you could count on people not being idiots.

> We went to a nice garden, it was kinda romantic?

> flirted a little bit