Benjamin Brockley McCage

Ever since we have been married we have wanted a pet, but being in an apartment where we weren't allowed to have any (and if we did and they found out, we would have been kicked out and homeless) we have just been discussing what pets we someday would have. Scott is a fish person, and for some reason we decided that a betta fish would be a cool thing to have in our new condo. We could even put it in one of those cool fish bowls that look like an overgrown wine glass, and put cute colored rocks at the bottom, and the fish would be so happy and we would live happily ever after. So once we moved we did just that. We spent forever at Pet Smart picking out just the right fish bowl (not to mention the several months we have had of looking at all the vases and things in all the stores that we went to, to pick out just the right shape), we got the cute colored, blue and green and clear, rocks. And then picked out the perfect fish. His name was Brock. Brock the Betta.

It was a happy day when we brought him home and got his bowl all ready and perfect. Then came the time to put him in his new home. Scott decided to get a large spoon, the really big stirring spoons that you use when you're cooking and such, and pour Brock onto the spoon over the sink and then put him in the bowl. Good idea in theory, but when put into practice, it went something like this... water comes out of the container Brock was in, Brock comes with the water and onto the spoon, Brock gets scared because he is on a spoon and not in the water, flops off the spoon, into the sink, and down the drain. Then comes the mass panic and yelling from myself and Scott, mostly because we were worried for the safety of the newest addition to our family who is now down the drain, and not in the fish bowl. We even tried to take the little bend in the drain apart to see if by chance Brock was in there... no luck.

So here we are, with the perfect fish bowl, and no fish to put in it. :( Clearly we can't go back to Pet Smart and get another one, because they will know that we are accidental fish killers and may not let us walk out of the store with another betta, for fear of this fish's life too. Our next choice, Animal Ark, sadly was closed. So we went to our last choice, Wal-Mart, and got Brock Jr. But SURPRISE ... betta fish do not live well, or really live at all, in tap water, despite the insistance of Scott that they do. So a couple days later we said goodbye to Brock Jr as he passed on from this world and into fish heaven, due to a fungus that started growing all over him because of the tap water.

Now... meet Ben.

This is Benjamin Brockley McCage. Named Ben because it still sounds good as Ben the Betta, middle name to remember his brothers who have passed on before him. I bought him as a surprise for Scott's birthday and I am happy to report that Ben is a happy, healthy fish who seems to be enjoying his fantastic fish bowl, in distilled water, not tap water, and having been transferred from store container to fish bowl in a more appropriate method than being poured onto a kitchen spoon.

Depending on the situation, we are thinking about getting a dog next. Any advice given or prayers offered for said dog would probably be a good idea so that we do not repeat our fish follies with yet another pet. But I think everything will work out alright. :)