finally! a birthday present presents itself!

Well, I would expect any "normal" kid's response to "what do you want for you birthday" to be something like "a monkey" or "a race car" or "a new bike"...not "socks"!

After harassing my friends' child one more time, trying to painfully extract an acceptable (in my mind) birthday present for a 9-year-old, I finally suggested a hamster - well, apparently he had one and didn't take very good care of it. Maybe a hour later, after much banter with him and his mother, suddenly a pet rat was the answer - not my answer, but they are pretty smart critters and make good pets - you just have to get past the whole rat part...so I figured as long as his parents were ok with it, it might be an option.

So off we go to the pet store to research the needs and costs - though I'm still leaning toward a simple Betta and bowl! For a whole starter kit and baby rat, the total damage was right around $100 - yeah, for a $5 rat! Again, leaning toward the fish! but this poor boy had his heart set on a rat...so the deal is to put the rat on hold and discuss this with his parents - if they agree, then he can have it...

of course mom says "well, maybe" and dad says "hell no!" so the compromise is that he can't have the rat until he proves he is responsible...so he gets a fish tank and fish - not the Betta and bowl, but a full-blown 2 1/2 gallon with filter and all the bells and whistles (it even has pirate decals! and it won't break the bank at a whopping $30) The deal is, if he can take care of the tank and keep the fish alive, he can get the pet rat for Christmas - aren't I such the nice "auntie"?

Not that I don't want to spend the money, particularly on a non-family member - it's just that I don't want to spend that kind of money and have the poor animal not taken care of properly. Yes, I know - fish are animals too, but they are a little easier to care for than an animal that should be handled everyday and whose cage should be cleaned out every week...that's one of my biggest pet peeves - haha, no pun intended - people that get pets and then don't take of them...the animals don't deserve that! You should be serious about the responsibilities of a pet before taking one into your home...

overall, it seems like a fair deal - and it gives him something to look forward to at Christmas...a challenge and a goal...