A Fish Tale

This evening we said good-bye to a strange pet...but one that we've currently had the longest. Not exactly a cute pet, either. In fact, he was downright strange looking!
But through the years, he's caused no problems, never made a commotion, and faithfully helped clean our fish tank.

He was John, the algae eater.

Given to our youngest for her fifth birthday, along with an aquarium, he lived to see countless tropical fish that came and went over the years. Always minding his own business while he suctioned away on the glass, this strange looking guy eventually grew to be about a foot long. 
We're not even sure how old he was when we acquired him, but he lived with us for a whopping six and half years.

If you would have told me years ago that I would have gotten a soft spot for an overgrown algae eater with a face that only his mother- or another algae eater- would love, or that I would actually cry when I noticed for the first time that he seemed he might be dying, I would have said you must be crazy. But nevertheless, given the fact he was with us so long, our whole family is a bit sad.
Tonight, my husband put him a box and our youngest- now eleven- wrote his name on it. Tomorrow we'll bury him, probably nearby the two dwarf hamsters that met their demise earlier this year.
No, he is not like a dog, a cat or the like and we all know that. But he was a friendly fixture, and a memory of a time when our daughter was little.

In memory, here is the link the post on my old blog that I wrote when we got him and of my daughter's birthday. In fact, that whole blog is filled with incredible memories and details of when the girls were little and if I'm not careful, I can get misty reading it over it!
But here it is, written six and half years ago, with some wit and tongue in cheek.
Bye, John...we really will miss you!