I had a fish. Bruce! Golden and lively until of course he wasn’t. A friend blessed me with him for my birthday earlier in the year, much to my delight. He started out bold, all busy-like as if he had tremendous purpose swimming around his aquarium on a mission. 

As the days and weeks passed, his tank developed an algae problem. Poor guy, I was a novice at aquarium care. He probably didn’t stand a chance! But as night follows day, I gave it a go, trying to clean up the tank and preserve a healthy fish world for him.

To no avail. He died!

BACK UP PETS

In the meantime, I’ve adopted a pet spider. Meet Gracie! A low-maintenance (as in none!) spider 🕷 of some kind that lives behind my wall TV. She only comes out at night, retreating back to her hiding place when the sun begins to shine.

For a time, I really thought she was a Black Widow. She still could be for all I know. It’s impossible to turn her over to check the abdomen for the telltale red hourglass marking. When she’s out, she rests suspended sideways, probably thinking “it’s better to catch lunch from this vantage point!”

One early morning I caught her chomping on what looked like the remnants of a Daddy Long Legs. It was kinda fascinating even if perversely so. The ideal pet. I don’t even have to feed her! No food to buy. No tank to clean. Plus, she never really strays from her habitat. 

BEHAVIOR IS AS BEHAVIOR DOES

Which is why, quite frankly, I’m still suspicious that she could be a Black Widow. It’s all in the behaviors. Either a Black Widow or Brown Recluse. They hide in dark places never venturing far from their roost, retreating back to darkness upon light or interference of any kind. They really are quite shy!

Soon a new aquatic creature will capture my imagination however. It is so calming watching a fish suspended as if in meditation. Or busy! Both energy levels are equally fascinating to me knowing they’re breathing in oxygen through water! Why oh why can’t we?!

Overall, I’d much rather have a dog for a pet but short of that miracle ever happening, I guess I’ll just have to settle for smaller species as pets. They are interesting but the problem for me is they are observational only, not interactive. You can pet a dog or cat, even a bird, but not a fish or spider.

Oh well, next life maybe!