I’m sorry to report that we had a pretty sad event this weekend. Ombré the fish passed away on Saturday night.
It was especially tough on Chica, who was Ombré’s caretaker. :(
I know it might sound silly to be impacted by the passing of a fish, but she was our first true pet (if you don’t count the goldfish we had for two days, the year prior; which I guess you should count, ha).
We were so proud of Ombré’s longevity. She celebrated her second birthday with us, back in April, which seemed like a huge accomplishment!
We “won” her at the school carnival in Spring 2023, and when we researched online, we discovered that Beta Fish are typically six months to one year old before they’re sold. So, in total, Ombré was likely approaching the three year mark in age when she passed, which is incredible! In human years, that’s upwards of 80, so she had a good, long life.
But it was still heartbreaking for Chica.
Not so much, for Little Man, who just looked at the tank and declared (in only the way a nine-year-old boy can), “Yep. She dead.”
Not “she’s dead,” but “she dead.”
It was both a tiny bit funny and traumatic—especially for poor Chica, whose heart was hurting.
We had to discuss a little sensitivity and tact after that, oye.
In the end, Chica couldn’t bear to just flush Ombré, and I don’t blame her. So we placed her, “sleeping,” in a little box with some other tank pebbles. And we added some family pictures in the box. Then the hubby buried it out back, heading down to the lower level, in a spot where the water flows when it rains, because fish should have water.
It’s both a blessing and a curse that my eldest has such a huge heart. It was terrible to see her suffering, but it just reminded me how deeply she cares, and that’s a wonderful thing.
Ombré, you were an amazing first pet. Definitely a success story for us newbies. We’re grateful for the joy, and we hope you swim peacefully, hereafter.
More later, peeps!
Over and out.
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