I gave the girls Goofy as a 3rd birthday present. He lived almost exactly two years, which is not bad considering I wasn’t sure I could keep him alive for more than a few weeks. Goofy was our most low maintenance pet and as such, I loved him. He was easy to take care of, and easy to love. His water had gotten pretty yuck, so on Monday I cleaned his container. You have to put just the right amount of chemical in the water. Too much and it’s slimey within days. Too little and well, he dies. Lesson learned.
I found him at the bottom of his bowl Tuesday morning and immediately told the girls. They took the news well, I apologized and said we would get a new fish after vacation. When we came home Tuesday night I knew we needed to deal with him since he was already looking tough. I have to deal with more than my fair share of dead animals and I hate it. It freaks me out beyond belief. So to have to scoop him into a glass? Well, I screamed more than a few times. But, I got him in the glass, we said a quick prayer, and then flushed.
Delaney took the burial very hard. It suddenly hit her and she sobbed and sobbed. She kept saying “I told my friends at school that we have three pets and now we don’t.” She wanted a replacement fish immediately. She kept saying over and over “I miss Goofy.” Caden meanwhile, has already named the new fish (Zoe).
My suggestion is to make the next pet fish their responsibility. If something happens under their watch, they will learn the consequences. Of course I would provide lots of direction.