Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Death Watch
We got my daughter some fish the other day.
She had been complaining that all the other kids have pets except her. Well, we certainly can't have that (she conveniently forgets we have had family pets in the past...a dog that turned into a dingo and tried to eat Elizabeth when she was a baby and a few fish here and there). So, on Monday we were off to that disgusting smelling store, Petco...that place just REEKS!! After much hmming and haahhing, Elizabeth picked out her two $1.29 goldfish and Nemo and Rainbow were bagged and ready to come home with us!! Just a side comment here...who the hell over the age of 18 years old would work in the fish department in a pet store?? Scary looking people that's who!!
Anyhoo...on the way home I explain the lifespan of the domestic fish (more specifically, the domestic fish in our household) to Elizabeth as extremely short. Big mistake. Elizabeth has been on a "DEATH WATCH" ever since!! The last two mornings she has come racing down the stairs yelling, "are they dead yet, are they dead yet?"!! When I pick her up from school, "are Nemo and Rainbow dead yet?". She's really starting to freak me out!
I swear... if I see her snapping the heads off birds...
She had been complaining that all the other kids have pets except her. Well, we certainly can't have that (she conveniently forgets we have had family pets in the past...a dog that turned into a dingo and tried to eat Elizabeth when she was a baby and a few fish here and there). So, on Monday we were off to that disgusting smelling store, Petco...that place just REEKS!! After much hmming and haahhing, Elizabeth picked out her two $1.29 goldfish and Nemo and Rainbow were bagged and ready to come home with us!! Just a side comment here...who the hell over the age of 18 years old would work in the fish department in a pet store?? Scary looking people that's who!!
Anyhoo...on the way home I explain the lifespan of the domestic fish (more specifically, the domestic fish in our household) to Elizabeth as extremely short. Big mistake. Elizabeth has been on a "DEATH WATCH" ever since!! The last two mornings she has come racing down the stairs yelling, "are they dead yet, are they dead yet?"!! When I pick her up from school, "are Nemo and Rainbow dead yet?". She's really starting to freak me out!
I swear... if I see her snapping the heads off birds...
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We, too, just got a new fish this past weekend. After many many months of grievous mourning for his Betafish Goldy, Max decided that it was time for him to adopt a new fish. After convincing him that he could not keep the catfish for a pet that he had caught with his Daddy Saturday morning, we went to Petsmart (it smells not so bad there), and he picked out a new white and blue Betafish that he promptly named Jerry. I am never sure where he comes up with the names, but it's entertaining all the same!
Hey, I know exactly what you mean about the people that work in the fish department! I actually commented on it to my husband this weekend! They are kind of like band geeks gone bad or something. Good luck with your fishes, may they live relatively long lives (and expire when your daughter is not around).
Hey, I know exactly what you mean about the people that work in the fish department! I actually commented on it to my husband this weekend! They are kind of like band geeks gone bad or something. Good luck with your fishes, may they live relatively long lives (and expire when your daughter is not around).
I hear ya sister, my son has a dwarf rabbit and he also has a Beta fish (It is his third beta fish although he doesn't know it). ;-)
It started 3 years ago when my son picked his fish from that same smelly pet store and named it Puther (don't ask me where the heck he got that name from because I assure you I have the foggiest). Puther was a beautiful shade of red and we brought him home along with a tank and all the necessary equipment and accessories to make his tank a home. Well, Puther #1 lived for only four months when I found him belly up on the surface. I didn't have the heart to tell my son that his fish had died (he is very sentimental). While my son was in school, I drove to the pet store and searched frantically for another red Beta. There were NO MORE RED BETA FISH that day, so I picked out a nice blue one, drove home, plopped it in the fish tank and told my son that something magical had happened while he was at school. Puther had CHANGED COLORS! He must be a magic fish. My son was thrilled and very excited to learn that he had a magic fish. I have to admit that I did feel a bit guilty.
Puther #2 lived for well over a year until his recent demise when I came back from a 2-day business trip and found his lifeless body floating and decaying in the tank. (Note: Betas don't have to be fed every day. They can go for 5 days without eating). Once again, I didn't have the heart to tell my son what had really happened so I repeated what I had done the last time this happened.
This time, I couldn't find an all-blue beta so I chose one that was mostly blue with a little bit of red on him. Thus Puther #3 came to be. To this day, my son thinks it's still the original Puther. But he is thrilled to see that his magic fish, Puther may be changing back to red again! ;-)
The next time we have a fish death, I won't hide it because death is a part of life and a lesson that we all have to learn sometime. My son and I will have a proper buriel for Puther (down the comode) and some day when my son is older (45), I will tell him the true story of Puther #1, #2 and #3 along with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy!
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It started 3 years ago when my son picked his fish from that same smelly pet store and named it Puther (don't ask me where the heck he got that name from because I assure you I have the foggiest). Puther was a beautiful shade of red and we brought him home along with a tank and all the necessary equipment and accessories to make his tank a home. Well, Puther #1 lived for only four months when I found him belly up on the surface. I didn't have the heart to tell my son that his fish had died (he is very sentimental). While my son was in school, I drove to the pet store and searched frantically for another red Beta. There were NO MORE RED BETA FISH that day, so I picked out a nice blue one, drove home, plopped it in the fish tank and told my son that something magical had happened while he was at school. Puther had CHANGED COLORS! He must be a magic fish. My son was thrilled and very excited to learn that he had a magic fish. I have to admit that I did feel a bit guilty.
Puther #2 lived for well over a year until his recent demise when I came back from a 2-day business trip and found his lifeless body floating and decaying in the tank. (Note: Betas don't have to be fed every day. They can go for 5 days without eating). Once again, I didn't have the heart to tell my son what had really happened so I repeated what I had done the last time this happened.
This time, I couldn't find an all-blue beta so I chose one that was mostly blue with a little bit of red on him. Thus Puther #3 came to be. To this day, my son thinks it's still the original Puther. But he is thrilled to see that his magic fish, Puther may be changing back to red again! ;-)
The next time we have a fish death, I won't hide it because death is a part of life and a lesson that we all have to learn sometime. My son and I will have a proper buriel for Puther (down the comode) and some day when my son is older (45), I will tell him the true story of Puther #1, #2 and #3 along with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy!
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