Yes, we (finally) have pets!
If you asked whether I’d like to have pets at home a month ago, I’d say no thank you.
I’ve always been one who’s into pet dogs though, but looking at our lifestyle here in Singapore, I’d say it’d be too troublesome to start owning a pet. It’d take too much time to care for. Not to mention the lack of space (if it’s a dog) AND the hassles when we all have to go overseas for a holiday or something.
Funny how things can change within a few days.
You see, our friends went on a holiday towards the end of last year and we happily said yes to babysitting their pet fishes.
Anya and Vai sure were happy with the little fish tank in our living room. They’d greet the little fishes when they reached home. They’d watch the fishes, and keep asking me if they can feed them again and again.
I too began to think that having pet fishes was actually NOT a bad idea.
And so, on day 4 of babysitting our friends’ fishes, we found ourselves – all four of us – in a pet fish shop.
And we came home with four goldfishes!
Two ‘Ranchu’ goldfishes, and Anya named them ‘Miff’ and ‘Dottie’ (because of the red dot on its forehead)
Two ‘Lionhead’ goldfishes, named ‘Buff’ and ‘Headie’ by Anya.
And err, we got these not just for the kids. Wilson and I are happy with our little fishies too!
I could lie down on the floor when the kids are all asleep at night and just, watched the fishes swim away. I love how their tails sway so gracefully. So refreshing to the eyes!
I love observing the beautiful patterns on their glittery bodies too. God’s wonderful designs!
[AND, I love the fact that they’re easy to care for, do not need to be ‘walked’, and can easily be babysat by a friend when we’re all away on a short trip]
Anyway.
The kids happily care for the fishes. They learn how to be gentle, responsible and caring towards their pets.
And I, willingly, look after our four little friends too. Changing its water, cleaning its filters, rinsing its pebbles (and poop!).
Interesting isn’t it, how our love for something gives us the natural willingness to do things that we perhaps feel so burdened about before.
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Matt :
Oh yes that’s what I love about dogs! But no lar … better not have a real pet dog for now … For now, Anya and Vai can play with my dad’s two dogs every time we go to Jakarta! hehehe
get a real pet “dog” lar! They will always response to you and a great companion for the kids. Just like niu niu, has started to protect xuan xuan.
Sandra :
Yes … it’s tough to care for a pet when we travel a lot ya. Perhaps one day when Tobias is much bigger and when you ‘travel … less’? 🙂
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Siska :
hehehe … that’s interesting! Wonder how you three sisters develop that kind of a phobia towards all animals.
I’m scared of certain ‘reptiles’ too. But then again, that’s because I had a bad experience when I was little …
Like my huge phobia towards house lizards. Urgh. I’m annoyed with the fact that I have a strong phobia towards such a little harmless animal.
I don’t want my kids to fear lizards like me, so I tell them why they shouldn’t be scared of them, and why I have this phobia (I tell them what my maid did to me when I was little, etc!). I avoid ‘scaring’ them with unnecessary ‘animal’ stories too… sigh, … really hope they both grow up not fearing what I fear …
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Valentine :
Shan-shan’s fave word is ‘dog’ ? hehehe …
I agree, having a pet does help our little ones develop love and care for animals ya.
It’s always nice to see families who have pets and truly care for them (kids then automatically learn to be caring towards animals too), but I’m often saddened by news / stories of families abusing or neglecting their pets… 🙁
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Karen Yee :
Thanks Karen! And yes, I agree with you about ‘responsibility’ and ’empathy’!
PS: And I LOVE your little dogs!!
Great to hear!! Pets are always wonderful for kids. They learn loads from feeding, cleaning, loving etc. At the end of the day, responsibility and empathy are key to owning pets. I am sure the fishes are in good hands! 🙂
oh yes, having pets does really help the babes when it comes to loving and caring for things.
And like shan2 will walk to her 2 furry one cage every morn to say hi.
And guess what, her fav word now is dog! Not mummy or daddy.
If they love goldfish, they should go and watch ponyo by ghibli. Very educational movie too.
gw takut binatang. yupp, including fish. so far JL blm minta mo punya pet. dan moga ga bakal minta, krn gw ga tau kudu gimana. gw asli takut bgt ama binatang. dari kecil gitu, tau tuh napa bisa gitu. rika dan ika (2 adek gw) sama jg. phobia binatang jg. padahal bonyok kaga loh. malah dari kecil bonyok yg suka bilang, ga usah takut. ga bakal diapa2in. tp kita ber3 dari kecil sampe skg takut binatang. parah yah… tiap kali ke rmh org, pasti gw kudu tau dulu, mrk punya pet/kaga… klu fish yah, gw msh kaga gitu takut lah, kan ada di dlm aquarium.
Nice – i like to have pets too (big time animal-lover) but hubby thinks it’s too much esp when we go away for such a long time each year (annual visit to singapore, that is) – sigh!