An old aquaintance just contacted me. She has a large, LARGE collection of pets, ranging from cats dogs, hamsters, mice, fish, gerbils, who knows what else. She barely takes care of any of them, and is too proud to accept advice. The environments she keeps these animals in are borderline abusive, and she puts them in situations that she knows are not wise out of sheer ignorance, or perhaps defiance. Since she is still feeding the animals, and providing some sort of medical care, there really isn't much legal action I could take. But long story short, she is simply notorious for never cleaning her animal's environments. So, when she informed me she 'rescued' a betta like I have told her about doing before, I was obviously apprehensive. She sent me pictures of her new little guy, (gorgeous I might add, butterfly double ray crownie, white with a purpley wash) I could hardly make him out because of the dirty, small tank she had him in. She doesn't really do WC's, like, at all. I feel so bad for this fish, do any of you have an idea on how I could better it's living conditions or anything? Suggestions on what to say/do? I have already pointed out how dirty the tank was, and told her that if he was too much work for her, I would be happy to take him off her hands. That got me nowhere.
Well, thanks in advance for the help. This was as much a rant as it was a topic.
Well, thanks in advance for the help. This was as much a rant as it was a topic.
But it is an established and useful tool to use with those who are addicted and in denial. If you can find the correct term, google it for ideas. We call it carefronting where I work. It requires caring and honesty. It is part of the "tough love" approach.
