I'm not always so good with faces

[conuly]

So all I really recall of those people who were not feeding Finn or taking care of him is a general impression of yelling.

This is very awkward, as I never know when the next neighbor I don't recognize is really them.

So today I'm walking the dogs, and two people carrying a fluffy pomeranian are staring at me. Is that them? Who the hell knows, but it can't be, right? Last time they bumped into any of us, they screamed their stupid heads off!

All the same, when I got home I asked Eva if she could provide a physical description. "Well, there's an annoying little girl who's a jerk, and an annoying boy who's an ass- a butthole, and...."

Not helpful, Eva!

"Also, they recently got a new dog, a pomperanian...."

GOD DAMN IT!

I better dig out those adoption papers just in case.

God, I wish they'd just move already, to some place that doesn't allow pets.

Comments

[archangelbeth]

Being faceblind suuuuuucks. (I am... mildly faceblind, yeah.)

They got a new dog? After neglecting the prior one???

...better look up what care pomeranians need. >_>

[conuly]

They got a new dog? After neglecting the prior one???

What did you expect?

Eva thinks it might be a friend or relative's dog who happens to be visiting. I don't know, I'm not about to ask. But if I see it out, alone, with no collar, I'm taking it to the damn shelter.

[archangelbeth]

What did you expect?

GOLDFISH!

[archangelbeth]

Yeah, shelter sounds about right...

[conuly]

This is random, but no, I wouldn't trust them to take care of a goldfish either.

Do you know that when goldfish are properly cared for, they live decades? (And every time I say that, somebody replies "Oh? I thought they only lived a few months, I mean, mine didn't live that long", to which I say yes, but that's because yours weren't properly cared for. Seriously. And properly caring for a goldfish means taking care of its emotional and intellectual needs too - confining a goldfish in a bare bowl is cruel.)

[conuly]

I'll do it in a heartbeat, and I won't feel bad.

[archangelbeth]

Amen.

[archangelbeth]

*nods sadly*

Though... feeder fish? How long can they manage? (Well, guppies in a good aquarium can last for quite a while. I think our angelfish managed a few years, at least, too... And the pleco hung on FOREVER.)

[conuly]

Don't ask me. I don't know how to take care of goldfish, I just know they can live a long time and are smarter than most people think.

[archangelbeth]

*snicker* I'm not even sure goldfish and feeder fish are the same things, really. I mean, there's feeder guppies, and I can recognize them 'cause they males are anatomically correct(-ish), but "Yellow fish fed to bigger fish" is kind of... *big shrug*

[alatefeline]

*awkward neighbor shuffle virtual air high five*

I called the cops on the guy upstairs after SOMETHING weird went down with him and his then girlfriend. Glares on the stairs; weird comments in the laundry room. Eeeeeeuuuurgh.

[conuly]

I'm worried about them showing up on my porch again and screaming! (With or without the cops, though I've found the paperwork and can prove we own Finn.)

[conuly]

...aren't fish normally anatomically correct? Or do you have some weird Picasso fish hanging around?

[pauraque]

I used to keep fancy goldfish, and during part of that time I also had a feeder goldfish that I won at a carnival. He lived for seven years. Maybe a more expert keeper could do better — my other fish topped out at around a decade, which impressed my friends but is nothing special by the standards of serious keepers — but they do not die young of natural causes, that's for sure. Sadly it's true that most early goldfish deaths are due to poor care.

There are other species sold as feeder fish too, but I'm afraid I have no clue about those!

[gingicat]

Ugh, that sounds miserable all around.

[conuly]

I'm both morally and ethically in the right (edit: and legally!), but I still don't want to deal with these people.

[batwrangler]

Some fish are more ... cryptic wrt their reproductive equipment. Guppies are not one of these.

Goldfish and koi are different genus and species of carp:

Koi - have barbels on mouth, get bigger, may live longer:
http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cyprinus_carpio/

Goldfish - more morphological variation with in species:
http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Carassius_auratus/

I think the main difference between feeder goldfish and fancy goldfish is selective breeding.

[batwrangler]

I totally get that and good for you for pro-actively having his papers in order, though I'm kind of surprised that they even recognize poor Finn. I'd probably play it dumb if they tried anything, "Oh, really, looks just like your old dog? You don't say!"

[conuly]

We skipped his last groomer visit, so his fur's grown out. (But it's not matted, because I fucking comb it! Or try to, anyway.)

[gingicat]

I agree and understand.

[archangelbeth]

Most male fish don't have specialized fins for use when chasing around the females! Mollies and guppies do!

[archangelbeth]

Poor fishies...

[conuly]

Specialized... fins?

[archangelbeth]

Fins! The anal fin (at the base of the tail, anyway), in male guppies & mollies, is modified into a grooved or tube-like transferral “device” for sperm. They constantly chase the female fish around & when they get close, swing their specialized fin forward, and I guess they squirt the wigglies directly at the female fish’s genital opening. I don’t think they achieve penetration.

The female fish are all “stop trying to entice me with your enlarged tail-fins & let me swim around hoping for brine shrimp.” They never seem impressed.

...let’s hope this email reply works right.

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