[CatStarESP4]

When I was 7, I had a puppy for a few months before my mom had to give it away.

From the time that I was 8 until I was 12, I had fish, but the went belly-up and we constantly had to replace them (the guppies were a failure).

When I was 10 going on 11, we started getting canaries. We acquired one that we thought was a male (I named him Kevin). One morning, I found a broken egg on the bottom of the cage. She was renamed Karin. The funny thing was she sang so beautifully and loved Gershwin. We went to Europe for two weeks, leaving her under the care of a neighbor. When we returned, she refused to sing for two weeks.

While Karin was still alive, we acquired another canary. It was a male and we gave him the name Kevin. He didn't sing and likely he was a sick bird. We thought he was stupid, don't ask me why. He lasted only 14 months, dying two months after Karin.

Six weeks later, we wanted to have the house filled with the song of a canary. We acquired two more, one of them was a beautiful dark colored bird. I saw this canary in the pet store jumping about in the cage and singing. When I found out this beauty was in the pet store for several months and no takers, I felt so sorry for this creature. I gave this bird a home, I wasn't sure if it was male or female. The other one was a beautiful yellow bird with black streak on one side of her head starting from the eye. This one would last only two months. She was constantly laying eggs. One day, I came home to find her on the floor of the cage not feeling well. When my mom came home from work, we rushed her to the vet. We learned that she had a breached egg. The vet removed it and tried in vain to save her life. The next day I learned she died and I was devastated. The guilt still haunts me 15 years later. A few days later, we acquired our final canary. She kinda resembled the one we lost so tragically. However, she was unfairly compared to the other one. She was with us for more than two years. The dark one was the last to go. This creature contracted an infection and languish until I came home to find the bird dying. A few moments later, I found this beautiful animal keeled over. It was exactly three weeks after my 18th birthday. I was crying and angry, even after 12 years. Since then, we didn't have anymore pets.

Now, I want to get a cat maybe two. My mom and I have been trying to convince my dad to let us have one for several years. This will take work, but he will come around!