Since Petco came to Menifee a few years back, I’ve taken my daughters there quite often. This may seem like nothing out of the ordinary until I tell you that we just got our first pet a few weeks ago.
That’s right; we would go to Petco and just look around at the different animals. On lucky days, we’d get a glimpse of some dogs that owners would bring along for their errands, freshly groomed pooches, or even doggies learning good manners in an obedience class. On occasion, we’d also get to stick our fingers through the little cages and pet the sweet rescue kittens.
I won’t lie; I wanted to take them home just as badly as my girls thought they did.
It’s not that I don’t like pets; I do. I grew up with all kinds. We had snakes, turtles, fish, dogs, cats, hamsters and birds, just to name a few. It seemed like every stray animal gravitated to my family. We even had an African Gray Parrot fly into our backyard once. It became a family pet for many years.
Recently, an opportunity came up to acquire a small 10-gallon fish tank, complete with supplies and a fish, and it was in my price range: FREE! I asked my daughters, who have been begging for a family pet, if they’d like to have a pet fish. You can imagine their excitement.
We were certain that our fish needed a buddy. Life is lonely in a 10-gallon fish tank. So we went straight to Petco, this time with our pet in hand. We had our little guy in a baggie and had no idea what kind of fish he was.
I found an employee who identified our new family pet as a Chinese Algae Eater. We named him Kai-Lan. I was so impressed with this young man who works at Petco. He not only identified my fish, he explained in great detail which fish would get along with ours, how the cycle of the water tank works, along with more information than I ever thought I needed to operate this small marine ecosystem.
My girls were disappointed that we were unable to purchase a buddy for Kai-Lan right away. We found out we had to have our aquarium set up for a minimum of 48 hours before they would sell us a fish. We did pick out a buddy and went back the following week to get “Goldie”, our goldfish.
Goldie and Kai-Lan are perfect roomies. Kids are happy, mom is happy and I don’t have to take a shovel around the backyard just yet. There is a Fido in our future but for now, I’m happy with a net and some fish flakes.
Michelle Walsh is a Menifee resident, a wife and mother of three young girls. She is a former teacher who enjoys running, exercise, sewing, gardening and socializing. Each week, she shares her experiences as a Menifee mom. Michelle welcomes your comments here.
0 comments:
Post a Comment