WEB EXCLUSIVE

Pets are a large part of everyone’s lives. From a cat to a turtle and a dog to a fish, people make connections with the animals in their lives.

Now, at the age of 17, I’ve never owned any pet over the complexity of a fish. With two betta fish under my belt as family pets, I decided to pick myself up another betta fish last year–all for myself. His name? McCall.

You are probably thinking, “He’s just a stupid fish, you can’t even interact with him.”

Well, you’re wrong.

Every morning, I turn on the light and McCall comes swimming out from under his little bridge, happily waiting for me to feed him. Once I do reach my hand in to feed him, he jumps for the food–or so I thought. Now, it’s gotten to the point where the food will be floating on the surface and he still tries to jump up to my fingers.

Another way we interact is that I drag my finger around on the glass, and he follows it everywhere I drag it. Yeah, sure, I can’t directly pet McCall like people can do with dogs and cats, but I am sick and tired of hearing that fish aren’t as meaningful as a dog or a cat.

Upon a recent visit to PetSmart, I came to the realization that many people see fish as way less than a cat or dog when I was browsing the poor little fish in tiny plastic cups. I saw a beautiful iridescent male betta that had rot fin. It struck me that the workers would probably let him die rather than properly treat him.

I then started to see my fish in a different light. I realized how upset I’d be if he were to have rot fin himself. So, yes, the connection that someone can have with a fish is just as much as real as the connection someone can have with a dog or cat.

I also feel that I share this connection with my succulent plants. Although they are not exactly pets, I consider my succulents as living things I have fostered and have a connection with, and I would be upset if one of them were to die.

Let people be happy over the little things in life, and don’t judge them based on what makes them happy. Whether that be a dog, cat, turtle, ferret or a fish–they all connect meaningfully.