It had to happen eventually. The reason I didn't want a pet is because they die. I wish I could say that I hate seeing my children in pain or I become compassionately and lovingly attached to living creatures....alas, that would be a lie. How does one dispose of a deceased hermit crab without putting into question your tender 4 year old's understanding and love for their very first pet? She wanted a pet so very badly, which is the only reason we gave in on May 1st of this year. She promptly named the crab Susan (we still are not sure where she got it) and I immediately started thinking about how to explain death to a small child. We've talked about the glove, we've talked about Heaven and yet she still was concerned that Susan wouldn't be able to breath in a box if we buried her. It is heartbreaking and she is sad but we are remembering the good times....like all those times she made a break for it across the kitchen floor trying to escape, or the cross country journey she made from Texas to Connecticut, we even bought her two new shells to grow into as a family a few weeks ago...we thought that her unusual behavior had something to do with her growing too big for her shell...we were wrong. She hadn't moved for a while so this afternoon Clark tried to refresh her food and water...when she still didn't move he reached in and picked her up. That's when she fell out of her shell. (PS For those of you not familiar with Hermit Crab way of life...they don't do that.) So did I mention that her cage is hidden in our kitchen cabinet so we aren't looking at it? I don't have the stomach to dispose of or even touch a shell-less crab so I'm waiting for Clark to get home and make a more suitable spot for her final resting place. We had to break the news to Abby. We spent lots of time talking and explaining and re-explaining but in the end all is well. It was sad but we will move on, pet free for a while.
Susan, we loved you so and you will go down in history as our first (and maybe only) family pet.
16 comments:
a~~~~w.... poor girls. you have to say it though, that little crab really hung in there for a lot longer than most would have imagined. she had a very interesting life as the first little abby pet. RIP susan. RIP.
dang, i wanted to get matthew a gerbil for his bday, but this makes me think twice.....i'd be ok, but he would be sad.....susan, that is hilarious! our friends little girl named their crab, Crabby. Susan, that is original
You could make it into a really great lesson about how if we become "hermits," like Susan, we shrivel up and die. Eh? Eh?
Rainbow Shell and Pinky Shell were our first and only pets. (Real creative names, huh? They looked exactly like you're thinking they looked. You'd think my creative child would have come up with more interesting names, but alas...) We had them for 18 months exactly. We're not sure what their cause of death was. They died at the same time, which makes me think its our fault somehow. I don't like having pets for the same reason: they die. If I get all worked up over a hermit crab... just think the state I would be in over a dog or something!
I'm sorry for your loss.
Bye bye Susan. She really was such a good little crab. Seth's beta fish is going strong (11 months now) I wonder how much longer they will have together. Pets are good though; sad sometimes, but good. Though nothing bigger than a fish will come into our house for many many moons. Get Abs a pet rock, or a pet hot dog. (Shell Siverstien's a little yucky)
The older they get the harder the questions and the job of explaining life becomes increasinly harder. Maybe that is why we don't have any pets, that or maybe it is because I don't want to have to clean up after one more "person".
We just made the jump and got a fish...that was all I could manage right now. Sorry about Susan. I still remember as a little girl when my hamster died...it was sad. But then we buried it under our pine tree in the back yard, and I was always scared to play there by myself...Laughing! Who would be scared of a little hamster ghost?? ( I got over it pretty soon, I think?)
Oh, this brings back the memory of Chip finding his pet fish Abraham floating at a funny angle in the fish bowl. I have a picture of him (he was about 9 years old) with red swollen eyes standing next to the fish bowl with Abraham floating sideways...only "mostly dead" at that point, but definitely on his way out. Chip wanted a picture of him before he croaked...er, passed. It was heartbreaking but I figure that dealing with small animals' deaths is a good way to introduce the concept of death and loss and in some ways prepares them for harsher realities later on. Keep repeating to yourself....this is hard but it's a good thing! I won't even begin to relive Chip finding Daisy on the side of the road when he was in High School....now that was a hard one!
I was so attached to Susan seeing as we shared the same name. My sister-in-law bought a goldfish once thinking it would be a good lesson on life and death for her childen at some point. The fish is still living, it has been at least three years if not more.
That is the same reason why ROb doesn't want a pet. I am sure that Susan is in a much happier place than a plastic box--will that comfort a 4 year old? I had two pet crabs in elementary school (I'm not sure why) and they only lived about nine months. May Susan rest in peace.
Bless your heart... You are a better mother than I am no pets for us. Plus I have to add that I think a crab would be scary! Give Abby a hug and tell her Susan will see her again later.. Love and miss you!
May Susan rest in peace. I hope your girls are okay, too. Sad.
aaww susan died. i am so sad now. i can just imagine abbys poor little sad face. it makes me want to cry. tell abby that is will be okay!
Having a pet die is so sad...
I still miss the dog we had when I was a kid. (I guess I'm sentimental after all.)
Bye Susan! If you like, we have 3 cats, a rabbit, and a rooster---- I will let you take your pick! Our cat, Scout, has already died 2 times-- I guess he has 7 more lives left...
I am so sorry for your loss. No words are adequate in times like these. I can only pray that Susan wasn't a sinner and is now relaxing in happy briney crab heaven rather than crab hell.
I don't know why I had never thought of it before, but maybe I should get a little pet for my girls. We've never had any animals but I have a feeling they'd love a little creepy crawly something.
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