The Demise of the Blue Bullet

Austin and Cassidy got a fish each about 3 months ago. They were so excited. It was a long time asking for a pet and finally, I said yes. I just didn't need anything else in my life that required me checking up on them!

About a week ago, Briton put playdough in Cassidy's fishbowl and we knew it had to be cleaned out right away or it might die. Cassidy was not at home, so I asked Austin if he would be so kind as to take care of the situation. He gladly did.

A little while later, he immerged from the bathroom carrying Cassidy's fishtank. He looked rather morose and I asked him what was wrong. He mumbled through near tears, "My fish is dead."

When I saw his sad little heartbroken face, I almost cried. It wasn't just a fish. It was Austin's Blue Bullet. So sad!

I was surprised. The Betta fish are supposed to last up to six years! I asked him what happened and he told me that for the first time ever, he did his fish tank wrong. He put both the fish into a bowl of water, and it was not the water from the tank. It was fresh water. And it was too hot.

When he went to get his fish out he saw that it was not moving and knew that it had died. He raced to rescue Cassidy's fish, and he was able to save it. The way he said it so earnestly broke my heart! I could just see him frantically trying to save the other fish, before it was too late.

I didn't know what to do, so I took the bowl into the bathroom with him and asked him what he wanted to do. He said he didn't know. I suggested (quite delicately, as I wasn't sure how he would receive this idea) that we could perhaps send the fish down the toilet out to the ocean? What did he think?

Thankfully, in his sweet little mind, he figured the pipes went right to the ocean and he told me, "And he will sink to the bottom of the ocean."

Okay, so he slowly tipped him into the toilet and pushed the handle. There went Blue Bullet. It was rather a weird moment. It was only a fish, but yet, it was a pet, and the only other pet we had buried was a dog, and I know that dog or fish - they are still special to children's hearts.

Yesterday, Austin came to me and told me that his dad was going to town. Could he go and get a new fish? He was home soon after, very excited with Blue Two - his new Betta fish. We survived our first fish fatality!


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