Confessions of an Undercover PETA Member

I've always wanted to run a cat rescue. There are so many feral cats surviving out in the cold, searching for food and water when they remember a warm bed by the fireplace and yummy chicken dinners. They were oh so cute as little kittens, but then they grew up. A new baby came, or the owners moved, or they were just plain unwanted after their natural cat behaviors didn't mesh with their human's lifestyle. Even purebreds sometimes get the boot.

Yesterday I got to start my animal rescue, but not for a cat. Our home became shelter to a mistreated goldfish. You see, this goldfish was one of a few goldfish that was bought purely to play a trick on someone. The buyer thought it would be funny for his coworker to come in and discover goldfish in his water glasses. When the fish were discovered, this one was the only one still alive. So after a rough transfer to a vase, this little guy found himself lucky enough to have someone feel sorry for him.

When he got to my house, he was laying on his side gulping for air. (It sorta reminded me of those asthma commercials a while back.) I really didn't think he would make it. But I put him in an empty tank with melaluca and aquarium salt. And what do you know? He was still alive this morning. After some research, I put in a heater on the lowest setting to make the tank 70 degrees. I put in another dose of melaluca too. And tonight he was actually swimming around a little. He's still close to the bottom of the tank and still bloated, but I really think he's going to make it.

I was actually pondering putting goldfish in my smaller tank, so now I have a start. He's a pretty little guy with twin tails. (Strange that this trickster didn't just get cheap ordinary feeder goldfish.) So, now I hopefully have a new fish complete with his own tale: How Lucky Was Lucky.

So, no I don't claim to support PETA and I don't give them my money, but my heart is in the same place.