The Sharps got a pet!!!

No. We didn’t get a dog or anything, although I’m sure Jacob would be ecstatic if I would consent. But for now, we’re just sticking with fish.

Not being a pet lover, I can get on board with fish. They swim around. You have to feed them and clean their tank. But, they aren’t scary looking. They are quiet. They don’t shed. They won’t jump up on me and scare me. All good points.

After Alexia spent a weekend at her cousin’s house, we saw how much she loved watching their Beta fish. So, we thought we could get some fish. GOLDfish. I know, the goldfish are the bottom-feeders of the fish world, but we were just starting out. If they die, it’s only 38 cents lost…We got a big 10-gallon tank, and decorations, and rocks, and plants, and three little goldfish. Didn’t name them yet. Then, they all died, and we got three more. Then they slowly died. Three more. Died. See a pattern yet?

The first time a fish died, I was worried about how Lexi would handle it. Would it crush her? Would she understand? I was pleasantly surprised at her reaction. She actually got to the point where she was EXCITED when a fish would die, because then she could help flush it down the toilet! I thank “Finding Nemo” for this. After all, she learned from that show that “all drains lead to the ocean.” I think she figures she’s doing these fish a favor! After 9 goldfish deaths, we found out that we were getting feeder fish – you know, fish bred and raised for the sole purpose of ending up as food for bigger fish. Feeder fish are not well cared for and have a high mortality rate. We decided to get another type of fish and settled on three little Tetras, and we have had no more deaths. Amazing! They did so well we got three more Tetras and then a few weeks later we got 3 Guppies. All are doing well.

Sidenote: As we were looking at which fish to get, Jacob pointed out the water-crabs to me, and thought someday we’d get one of those. He even pointed out to me how cool it is to watch them eat – watch them grab their food with their long, thin legs, and feed themselves with them. Hello!!! Have you MET me yet? Anything that even remotely resembles a spider – not on my list of fish to get. On the way home from Walmart, Jacob starts talking about other fish. Basically, any fish that Jacob thinks is “cool” is going to be one I’m afraid of. Fish that crawl on the bottom of the tank – not an option. Too much like a spider. Fish with big black googly eyes – not happening. Eels – uh…no.

Then, Jacob says “Someday, we’ll graduate to getting rats. They’re great pets.” Um…why on earth would we want a RAT?!? We had hamsters and gerbils in the house when we grew up, and I just remember what a pain they are to clean and take care of. (I don’t think I did any of the cleaning up…but it SEEMED like a pain.) So, Jacob says that Rats are so much better as pets than gerbils or hamsters. They’re cleaner, they don’t run around much, and they’ll even spend time just sitting on your shoulder! Why on EARTH would I want a RAT to sit on my shoulder?!? That’s fun…WHY?

Sounds like I have a long way to go before I’ll be comfortable with Jacob-type animals. Goldfish, I can get on board with. Tetras – okay. Heck, I could even go for a frog (water) or a turtle someday. But, for now…that might be all I can handle.

Baby steps…