Anakin

[abm]

Anakin was the last of my "first" set of bettas He was a wallyworld rescue from November, 2004 and, like Blue, had to deal with my "betta care learning curve" But he survived, and even thrived, through fin rot and sbd, underheated tanks and less-than-optimal water quality. Ani had slowed down a lot over the past month, and for the last few days he didn't eat, turned paler, and just hovered near the bottom I like to think he had no sense of how long it took, but he finally passed on Monday. My son and I buried him under our azaleas, near Harold, Pentecost, Quigon, Max, Dory and Kelso...not to mention five cats.

Bye, Ani....you are missed

[accountingchick]

I am so sorry for your families loss. A friend fowarded this to me after I lost Little Charlie and even though it talks about dogs I think that it pertains to every pet.

WHY DOGS DON'T LIVE LONGER THAN PEOPLE

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year- old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family there were no miracles left for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.

Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.

We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.

Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

[abm]

accountingchick, I had seen that email a couple months ago. It's a sweet and i think pretty accurate way of realizing how special our pets are, whether furry or finned.