I need help/advice! (Read below!)

My Dp had always been a giraffe it's like the only pet I want, I finally was able to trade up to a crow due to massive ops I've gotten but now I'm kinda stuck with the crow.. Idk how to upgrade and I really don't want to get stuck with huge downgrades.. Trying to trade up was torture but like I literally have a crow and a couple low tier megas.. ( M Shih tzu MR rock pigeon) and I don't have hours on end to grind and stuff esp with school and work.. Ive looked at star pets and there's no way Im gonna spend around 100 dollars for a pixel pet.. So I'm here to ask for advice of what I should do 😞