I Should Have Never Looked at the Fish.
I bought a fish.
So what? you say. What’s the big deal about a fish?
Well, we have a dog. She’s a very cute rescue dog. I often think about getting another dog or even two, because rescuing them seems like such a good idea – even if my house would then be over-the-top insane. I try to remember the insanity, so I don’t get another dog.
I also frequently consider rescuing a cat – but then I remember the hair on every chair from my former pet. So I haven’t given in and gotten a cat.
Dylan wanted a chinchilla or a turtle for Christmas. Getting a pet for an ADHD kid requires careful consideration – and research. Chinchillas and turtles are absolutely terrible choices for pets for any child.
So I got him five hermit crabs instead. They are great pets. They are interesting and eat almost anything. Plus, if you set up their tank with deep, proper substrate and specially filtered water, they can be fun to watch, too. But they still require daily care.
One of the hermit crabs died, possibly from old age or the stress of moving to a new tank. We miss Squirt terribly.
Shane’s Betta fish died several months ago – after living with us for three years. Dylan had two Betta fish, as well.
We also feed the birds and squirrels outside. (I won’t even discuss the fox, deer and raccoon families.) And while I was at the pet store this week buying bird seed for spring, I walked right past the Betta fish selection.
They store each fish in a tiny little cup, so they have nowhere to go and nothing to do – all day, every day. It is absolutely pitiful. To be fair, they would eat each other if put in a tank together – but still.
I should have never looked at the fish. But a white one with a red and blue tail darted over and looked right at me as I was walking by. And I was hooked.
I went back to the pet store the next day and bought Ezekiel. I looked up the name – which I chose instantly – because I was curious as to why I was so drawn to that name, and that fish. Ezekiel means “strength from God.”
The name is appropriate. Because with 2.5 kids, a dog, 4 hermit crabs and, now, a fish … I sure am going to need it.