Bender
He was dehydrated when I found him today.... neatly placed in an obscure location in the room. Put away and forgotten.
When they first saw him, they just had to have him. He was too cute and adorable just to pass by.
"Mom, mom! Can we buy him? Can we please? We promise we will take care of him!"
In the back of my mind I knew this was a fad. I knew the novelty would wear off. I knew he would eventually be neglected and forgotten. But After about fifteen minutes of debate and much begging in the hallway of the mall, I caved in.
And so it was today with much guilt that I "remembered" Bender. I was washing dishes when I came across the tiny jar of Hermit Crab food on the counter.
"Hey, where's Bender? Has anyone checked on him lately? When was the last time he was fed? Has anyone given him any water?"
When we first got him, they used to parade him around. His home was on the counter for everyone to see, and he was the star of the show.
As a rule, I live a busy and hectic life. And I guess it is this reason that it didn't occur to me to notice when they moved him. Not until I came across the half used jar of crab food.
They told me they moved him upstairs.... to the bedroom. No longer the star of the show, but now "taking up space and getting in the way." I rushed upstairs to find him curled up in a ball in the corner of his small cage - tucked away tightly inside his shell. His water had obviously been evaporated for days, and his food was pitifully littered all over the sandy floor of his otherwise neat little home.
For a moment I was afraid... afraid that he had died of thirst, or starvation, or even worse.... heartbreak and loneliness. I immediately began the inner dialogue of blaming myself.
Much to my relief, he was alive when I found him.... malnourished and dehydrated, but alive. I don't know why this means so much to me, but it does.
As I filled his bowls with fresh food and water, I sat for a while and watched him drink. He drank like he hadn't had water in a hundred years. After he had quenched his thirst, he retreated once again into that safe place in his little black and white shell.
I silently promised him I would never forget him again. I think he silently believes me.
When they first saw him, they just had to have him. He was too cute and adorable just to pass by.
"Mom, mom! Can we buy him? Can we please? We promise we will take care of him!"
In the back of my mind I knew this was a fad. I knew the novelty would wear off. I knew he would eventually be neglected and forgotten. But After about fifteen minutes of debate and much begging in the hallway of the mall, I caved in.
And so it was today with much guilt that I "remembered" Bender. I was washing dishes when I came across the tiny jar of Hermit Crab food on the counter.
"Hey, where's Bender? Has anyone checked on him lately? When was the last time he was fed? Has anyone given him any water?"
When we first got him, they used to parade him around. His home was on the counter for everyone to see, and he was the star of the show.
As a rule, I live a busy and hectic life. And I guess it is this reason that it didn't occur to me to notice when they moved him. Not until I came across the half used jar of crab food.
They told me they moved him upstairs.... to the bedroom. No longer the star of the show, but now "taking up space and getting in the way." I rushed upstairs to find him curled up in a ball in the corner of his small cage - tucked away tightly inside his shell. His water had obviously been evaporated for days, and his food was pitifully littered all over the sandy floor of his otherwise neat little home.
For a moment I was afraid... afraid that he had died of thirst, or starvation, or even worse.... heartbreak and loneliness. I immediately began the inner dialogue of blaming myself.
Much to my relief, he was alive when I found him.... malnourished and dehydrated, but alive. I don't know why this means so much to me, but it does.
As I filled his bowls with fresh food and water, I sat for a while and watched him drink. He drank like he hadn't had water in a hundred years. After he had quenched his thirst, he retreated once again into that safe place in his little black and white shell.
I silently promised him I would never forget him again. I think he silently believes me.
posted by Rezilla | 9:41 PM
1 Comments:
Well...all i can say is i am so grateful it didn't have to go that far. For a while i did have this haunting feeling that the Pet Police were lurking at my door, especially considering the disappearance of Sadie and Cikala Sr.... and Sapa... and Skala.... and Stupid Doug... and Noodles... and Darrell....
uh.... yeah... let's just stop there.
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