Connecting pets to memories/events...
I've had this girl since she was just fry, no bigger than a flake of fish food. She quickly outgrew the older fish in the tank including my beloved comet, Dash. I was the one who purchased her, and I worried at first because Dash could have literally inhaled her, she was that tiny.
I needn't have worried. Dash took to her immediately. They were almost invariably side-by-side from day one.
It was my father who loved fish, really. I moved him in with me when his health had rapidly started to fail. Encouraging him to keep fish seemed like a good idea. He got a lot of enjoyment from keeping fish when I was a kid; one tropical tank, one 'cold'. The thing is that fish are, quite frankly, a pain in the 'arris. Especially tropical fish who can't be trusted not to die en masse at the drop of a hat. They're a lot more work than many realise!
My father lasted about ten years in my care, passing away at home in 2015. He was two weeks shy of his 58th birthday.
"No religion, no funeral," he'd demanded, "and no bloody moping!"
He had no regard for his mortal remains and forbade any fate for them but quick and cheap incineration. He insisted that I have a proper party instead, like the ones he used to throw, and drink to his name while blasting Ace of Spades.
S'funny Lemme Kilmister didn't wait long to follow him out. I have my father's bike denim on the wall- his back patch was the classic Motörhead graphic, and everyone who knew my Dad associated him with their music. He did love a to head-bang.
From the night of my Dad's death, Dash fell ill and stopped feeding. I suspect he might finally have swallowed one too many lumps of gravel, and blocked himself up. Ultimately, he didn't recover, and I said goodbye to my favourite fish.
The big girl didn't really seem to notice either of them were gone, and has never lost her appetite. She never got a name other than Big Girl, for some reason, but big she is - about 1-2 inches longer than Dash was when she first arrived - and in very rude health. Unfortunately, she wasn't particularly friendly to any fish but Dash, and without him around she got more aggressive with her two remaining companions, which caused them a lot of stress. Despite my best efforts, they both passed away too, with her finding herself alone at last earlier this year.
I'm ashamed to admit that I was never particularly fond of her. She's actually pretty, and while she's lost a little of her colour over the years, she wears those years well, and her growth rate and robust physicality are impressive... but I wish she'd just been nicer to the other fish. That doesn't stop me trying to make her happier though- life in a glass box must be quite dull, and she hasn't handled being completely alone very well.
Discovering that she likes Beethoven, though. Girl's got taste. I can't help but see her a little differently.
My Dad absolutely loved Beethoven.
