Should Travelers Have Pets?

It’s a valid question: should travelers have pets? As I mentioned in my post on cheap living for travelers, pets cost money that will inevitably eat at your travel fund. Here are a few other reasons why pets aren’t traveler-friendly:

• Traveling with pets really limits your choice of accommodations, and you may even have to pay an additional pet fee.
• If you don’t travel with them, pet-sitters and kennels can cost a lot. You may also be worried for your pet the entire time you’re gone.
• Even if you find pet-friendly accommodations, you’ll be limited on all the other aspects of your trip. You’ll have to plan carefully trips to restaurants, attractions, and stores.
• Pets require time that you could otherwise spend exploring your destination.
• Because you’ll have to make tough decisions and sacrifices with your pet, you could become the kind of pet owner you (and most other people) hate. Like the one who leaves their pet in the car. Or the one who takes their animal into a building that only service dogs should be allowed in.
• Even low-maintenance pets can prove to be lots of work while traveling. Keep reading to find out more.

As you can see, I find it to be far too much of a hassle to have pets. And yet a week ago I adopted these two:

These guys, along with hundreds of other fish, were unpopular prizes at the harvest festival I had volunteered at. I didn’t want anything to happen to them if no one wanted them, so I did what I could and took two with me. What else could I have done?

Fortunately, goldfish are probably the least expensive pet. Of course I got these fish for free, but if I wanted to I could have picked them up at the pet store for a quarter. I already have a bowl and rocks from previous fish ownership, and of course the few gallons of water they use is a negligible cost. So the only expense for these guys right now was a little over a buck for fish food, which looks like it will last a long time.

Still, I’m concerned for these fish. My last few pet ownership experiences took a turn for the worse as soon as I decided to travel. My previous pets were two hermit crabs named Ferb and Shelldon. I owned these two fellows when I was living in Nebraska. They acted just like any other normal hermit crab would, and I took pretty good care of them, making sure that they always had a moist tank and a variety of food. I took two trips when I had them, but fortunately, I knew some girls who were eager to pet-sit. But then I wanted to move to Ohio, and somehow, they knew. I hadn’t even started packing yet. In fact, I hadn’t even received a job offer, but both of them died within a few weeks. I guess they really didn’t want to move to Ohio!

Before that, my previous four pets were goldfish when I previously lived in Oregon, which I kept two at a time. The first pair died the day I left for a choir tour. I guess they just missed me too much! The second couple was a little better. One of them died a few weeks into ownership for an unknown reason. The other one was much better, and lived for a couple of years. When I moved to Nebraska, I couldn’t take him with me, so he became my family’s pet. He lived several months longer, but eventually gave up on living.

Now that I have learned more about animal care, I’m determined to keep these little fishies swimming for as long as possible. Just this morning, I saw the gray fish laying on his side at the bottom of the tank, barely moving. Many people would just flush him (or her?), but I figured this was something that could be remedied. I guessed that there was something wrong with his swim bladder, so after moving him to his own container, I went online and did a few quick searches. Indeed, he showed the symptoms of a swim bladder disorder, and I made some changes that would help him heal. Not much later, he bounced back after a quick recovery!

They seem to be okay while I’m here, but what about when I travel? As I mentioned before, I’m currently taking a travel hiatus, so these two fish will spend that time growing bigger. They’re small feeder fish now, but they have the potential to grow up to several inches long! When I do inevitably start traveling again, they’ll hopefully be big enough that I can introduce them to the other goldfish in my parents’ pond. They’ll then spend the rest of their days socializing with other fish in a semi-natural environment.

But for now I am committed to raising them to be strong, healthy goldfish! The sad thing is, I haven’t even chosen names for them yet. So today, I’m making a call-out for friends, family, and even strangers to suggest names for these two critters.

What should I call the gray and orange goldfish?