Pets

Do you have a pet? Can you imagine life without yours?
My mother was dead set against having a pet but the Sister sneaked a kitten home one night and that clever cat went into cuteness overload and finally aged about 15 we got our first pet.
Sadly for my kids, I'm following in my mothers footsteps.  My kids would kill for a real pet, and not the 3 goldfish I relented and bought this year (took two goes to actually keep them living past 3 weeks), but a real animal.  My eldest has allergies so I just can't risk getting a cute-as-a-button kitten for fear I have to get rid of it, if my asthmatic, dust mite allergic son starts getting sick.
And you all know that I won't get a dog, remember this and this.
The Sister (oh she with a zillion cats, budgies, now chickens in her family) has got all self righteous with me (I think it's got something to do with her newly acquired chickens, which she thinks will make her block of suburbia a "life style block" when they put it on the market soon).  She is appalled that Smith has created his own pets.  First there was the dead fish in Fiji (which he named Samwon, a play on salmon, which he was convinced it was),

then Mango (which in the height of summer didn't last very long in our family),

All the Davids (any loriqueet)  and most recently Bennie (a hard boiled egg with a face drawn on it).
I know, I know, but you all have pets right?  I bet you all agree with those experts who claim that having pets can improve your mood, lower blood pressure, reduce stress and encourage fitness.  I'm sure you're all right, but scooping up poo in a plastic bag so you can still feel the warmth and squishiness brings on it's own kind of stresses right?
We were at the mall yesterday, and popped into the pet shop to look at the animals (I'm not that mean ok!  I do let my kids dream), I saw a Sucker Catfish for only $5, I asked what they did (suck up all the algae and leftover food bits) and said I'd buy one, the boys were aghast, Will was like "Mum, you just bought us another pet like without even thinking" followed by "hey guys lets call it Poo Sucker".  In a flash I said "HER name is Clementine Scarlet and we will call her Clemmie for short, and she doesn't actually eat poo".

So Sister, we now have 4 pets, all alive, all loved.  And hopefully Clemmie will maybe suck up a little poo here and there.  No plastic poo bags needed in this house.  No Sirree.