[Boris]

Have any of you had a pet you didn't like at first, but after they died or no longer around, you find out you did care about them down deep inside of you? I feel a little sad because I no longer have pet fish. Sure, I didn't like them all that much, but I miss them a little. They didn't do much and unable to show affection, and now that they're gone, I miss looking at the fish tank to look at the fish. I still miss Bob the Fish... he was my favourite.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

My sister had a Jack Russel that I was none too fond of. She was a pest and overbearing to me. I had my own little mellow guy so I didn't think too much about the Jack, but if my sister or parents were away I would let her sleep with me because she would often get lonely. She started to have breathing problems one evening, and the next day after I got home from work I found her ill. I was the only one home, so I called the vet who said to bring her in. I had no car and Toob (her nickname) couldn't make it more than half a block before having to stop so I picked her up and ran with her most of the way to the vet. She had a tumour underneath her windpipe and we decided to put her down. Anyone in the house was more fond of this dog than me, but it just so happened I was the one that was there, so I stayed with her and it amazed me how upset I ultimately got. Dumb, annoying, spastic dog but still family in that reluctantly accepted way.

[Boris]

Don't you find it interesting how we get t least little upset over the passing of those we never thought we would miss?

[Gallagher]

unable to show affection isn't true of all fish. if you think about getting more in the future, i would definitely suggest looking into some different types. i know my friend had a sweet beta boy that loved to interact with her.

i miss having a hermit crab, but honestly, i've learned a lot since i last had one and it would be irresponsible of me to get another or try to take care of it the way i was before. they're precious lil babs that deserve all the company and all the investment in their habitats.

[Potironette]

I've never had a pet, nor an animal that was a family member's pet that I cared deeply for...because I basically saw them as strangers.

When I was three or four years old, my grandparents' goldfish, whom I fed, started dying one by one, I think. But I didn't know they had "died"--I just wondered why I never saw them again.

[Boris]

Originally Posted by Gallagher

unable to show affection isn't true of all fish. if you think about getting more in the future, i would definitely suggest looking into some different types. i know my friend had a sweet beta boy that loved to interact with her.

i miss having a hermit crab, but honestly, i've learned a lot since i last had one and it would be irresponsible of me to get another or try to take care of it the way i was before. they're precious lil babs that deserve all the company and all the investment in their habitats.

How does a fish show affection to someone? They can't kiss, hug, or cuddle with you. Do you just stick your finger in the fish tanks and they be nice to it as oppose to them trying to eat it?
How does a fish get happy to interact with someone?

Hermit crabs are cute. My nephew had one before. I had a dream it died, and then it died. Poor thing. It was too cold.

@Potironette: Strangers, huh? I find that interesting as well. This makes me want to gt back into science, but more specifically, psychology.

[Potironette]

Yep, strangers. Someone else's pet, someone else's playmate, and someone else's friend. That, and no one mourned for the hamster whatsoever. In fact, my mom had been complaining about its smell for a long time and when it died, she tossed him into the trash :/.

I think I was taken aback less by the death and more by the underwhelming and unceremonious departure.

[Gallagher]

Originally Posted by Boris

How does a fish show affection to someone? They can't kiss, hug, or cuddle with you. Do you just stick your finger in the fish tanks and they be nice to it as oppose to them trying to eat it?
How does a fish get happy to interact with someone?

Hermit crabs are cute. My nephew had one before. I had a dream it died, and then it died. Poor thing. It was too cold.

some fish are safe to pet, believe it or not. and they enjoy it. they can also get excited to see you, which they'll show through body language, following your movements, etc. some of them make happy bubbles, too. or jump around. fish can be trained, too, to a degree. the right fish can definitely be a good companion.

hermit crabs ARE cute, but unfortunately, if you're ever only taking care of a single one, you're already not caring for it correctly. they naturally live in groups and just aren't the same without a good number of them together. they also need a lot more room than the little cases they typically come in. they're serious pets that need serious care, but people don't talk about that since they're such a well known souvenir pet. it's like the goldfish your kid wins at the carnival that dies a month later. they didn't have to die that soon at all, if they were taken care of well. they could have lived for years and years. but people accept them as being short lived. very sad stuff.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

I used to like to watch my mom's fish swim around. You could definitely see little personalities happening if you watched them long enough. They also knew feeding time from both following your hands as well as through the sound of the food dish. If I moved my hand across the tank glass, they would follow it, and if I rattled the lid of the ceramic food dish, the bulk would zoom to the top of the tank.

I think animals in general are loads more intelligent and capable than we generally assume, simply because they don't communicate in 'human.'

I find it interesting, I guess, but not surprising, how we can be upset over losing something/one that we didn't expect to miss, possibly because we didn't expect it to come up. Toby's loss was a shock to all of us, and since I was never attached to her I guess it never occurred to me to really think about what my feelings towards her actually were. I stayed with her not for me, but because I felt it would be cruel to her, as a highly social dog, to leave her with a stranger at the end. I balled my eyes out anyway.

I chalk it up to them being family, or at least a familiar presence in life, and it's noticed when they are gone.

[Boris]

Originally Posted by Potironette

Yep, strangers. Someone else's pet, someone else's playmate, and someone else's friend. That, and no one mourned for the hamster whatsoever. In fact, my mom had been complaining about its smell for a long time and when it died, she tossed him into the trash :/.

I think I was taken aback less by the death and more by the underwhelming and unceremonious departure.

Oh! Poor hamster! I would have mourned for the poor thing! oor hamster! What was the hamster's name?

@Gallagher: Really? I find that quite interesting, to be honest. I never would knew fish could be affectionate. I knew they could be smart (The ones my mom had knew when they were going to be fed), but not affectionate. I wonder if the fish was trying to bite my mom's and my finger when were put out finger in the fish tank.

@Quietmancometh: Yeah!

[Potironette]

He was named Peanut <3
(golden teddy bear hamster, I think)

[Obryant]

Originally Posted by Boris

Oh! Poor hamster! I would have the poor thing! oor hamster! What was the hamster's name?

@Gallagher: Really? I find that quite interesting, to be honest. I never would knew fish could be affectionate. I knew they could be smart (The ones my mom had knew when they were going to be fed), but not affectionate. I wonder if the fish was trying to bite my mom's and my finger when were put out finger in the fish tank.


@Quietmancometh: Yeah!

I had a cat who wasn't friendly and spent time in the closet sleeping. Now he's gone I miss him.

[Boris]

Potironette: That's a cute name for the little hamster! Poor thing.

@Obryant: Aw, that's cute... what he a fat cat?

[Serra Britt]

I had a large cat who was always a little bit of a meanie, didn't like being near people, but I loved him a lot anyways. He died a few years back and the anniversary of that is a little rough, but less so each year.

[uncledaddy]

never had a pet i didn't love. i've been less fond of other people's pets, like my mom's little dogs, but well it wasn't their fault she didn't know how to train and care for them properly to prevent behavioral problems.
and of course, right now i can't have any pets. i don't make enough money to live on and i live with a family member who hates animals. i'm confined to a single bedroom and there's not really enough space for me, never mind a tank big enough to comfortably house a fish or a lizard (since if i were able to afford an animal, it would have to be something that never left my room so the anti-pet would never have to interact with it).
i'd like to move as soon as possible, though, so maybe once i get that sorted out and have some kind of stability with the financial situation (now, there's a laugh), i'll finally be able to have an animal in my life again.