My Pet Fish

NOVA has spun off a new program called Science Now. It's a tv magazine style science show with short segments on a variety of hot science subjects. Hubby and I were lucky enough to catch the fourth episode of this show and got quite a few laughs with it. Since PBS is public television, you can go and watch this whole program on their web site for free. Click on the title of this page to go to their main webpage. It's only 6 minutes long.

The episode that had hubby and I laughing so hard was the one about Pet Surgery. They were removing skin cancer from a pet goldfish. Yes, a goldfish. The vets had devised a way to pump water into the fish so it can breathe while the surgeons perform the operation. Thankfully, the fish was okay and will enjoy many more years swimming in circles to the enjoyment of it's owners.

There was another story about a man who raises Japanese Koi fish. When a fish of his broke her back, he paid top dollar for surgery to repair the spine. He had all the same specialists for the fish as you or I would have if we went into surgery. And this fish lives happily in the pond still with it's owner. As a parting shot, the tv showed the man in the pond "cuddling" with his fish. Yeah, you gotta see it to believe it.

I think every generation of people say, "Whoa, this obsession has gone too far" but nothing comes of it. Remember that dumb woman who spent $60,000 to clone her dead pet cat? She trying to portray herself as normal but in my mind she was just stupid. She should have just let her cat have kittens so she could have some of his look-a-like offspring. There's always one in the bunch.

But how much is a pet worth nowadays? Did you know that people sue vets and neighbors for the death of their pets now, just like they sue docs over the death of their 97 yr old relatives? Yup, frivolous lawsuits because of Fluffy and Spot are rising fast. And the amount that juries award to families is heart stopping.

Woman awarded $45,000 after dog kills cat
Canada: dog alimony arrives
Dog gets off leash, punitive damages for pet store