Spud?!?

Fish Have Ancestry Too
Last week I talked about the "Operation Seek & Dispose" mission that I had to perform for my son. [You know, his 4 dead fish.  What do you mean you didn't read that post?  How could you not?  It was quite fishy...]  Well, the following mission, "Operation Return & Replace" was successful.  [Thank God.]  I purchased my son a red Siamese Fighting Fish, otherwise known as a Betta.  As a sidenote, why are they named Siamese?  I looked it up for you because I knew you'd be curious about this just as I was.  [Just nod your head in agreement]  Well, according to this article I read [here], the ancestors of the modern day Betta were from Thailand, which was once a part of Siam.  Their habitat consisted of dirty puddles in the rice paddies.  They would jump from puddle to puddle looking for I-don't-know-what.  A muddier puddle?  A cleaner puddle?  A smaller one?  A bigger one?  I don't know, but could you imagine these beautiful fish ~red, blue, blue-green~ jumping from dirty puddle to dirty puddle?  Yeah, me neither.  They weren't as pretty as today's fish ~less colorful and smaller fins.  But they didn't need to be pretty because they were bred to fight [for bravery not death], and this made these ancestors of the modern day Betta hearty, which, of course [finally], brings me to the reason I bought this fish for my son.  This fish is hearty.  I explained all this to my son on our way home, and then I asked him what he was going to name him.  He replied,  "Spud."  I asked him why, and he said, "You know, like the potato."  That's it.  That was the whole explanation. [rolling eyes heavenward ~ ooookay]

Did Your Ancestors Have A Sense of Humor?

Because of my dad's love of animals and that pet shop he bought my mom [Yeah, you should've read the fishy post.],   I learned a lot about them, and I have a few more stories ~ family stories, that is, about them.   And that's what they really are, aren't they?  Family stories?  I know our pets that we have now are a part of our family, and are at times, a part of a few stories if not the butt of a few jokes, too.  [Just like the rest of the family members.]  And that whole "Bettas have ancestors, too" explanation above reminded me that our ancestors, had pets too.  Pets that were a part of their family.  Ones that were part of some of their family stories, and I'm sure were the butt of a few jokes, too.  [Cuz, I don't know about you, but I like to believe that my ancestors told a few jokes.  Maybe a few inappropriate ones, too.  I mean, where did my sense of humor come from, right?  Don't answer that.]

Do You Know Your Pedigree?  Millie Does.
Well, one day when I was talking to my father-in-law about the whole "our ancestors had pets too theory," he mentioned casually that his grandmother, Pearl, had a dog named, "Brownie."  [Screeeech. Stop the presses.  Now, let me just pause and say that I have a "thing" for Pearl.  This is my favorite photo of her on the right. Sigh.]  The beautiful Pearl had a dog named, "Brownie."  That's it.  I don't know anymore.  And that's cool.  [Of course, it'd be nice to know a story or two involving Brownie, and maybe a photo would be nice.  Greedy much?]  Oh well, just to know that she had a pet ~ a dog named Brownie ~ is good enough.  Why?  Because I've had enough pets to know that they have stories, and, indeed, they make us laugh with their antics.  Sometimes, though, it's how they look that will make you smile.  Proof of this is in the puddin'.  Below is my Pug, "Millie."  Actually her official registered name is "Whitney's Pugnacious Pride."  [Millie knows her pedigree.  Do you know yours?]  Isn't she the most beautiful pup you've ever laid your eyes on? [Quit snickering.]:

A Loyal Friend
So, I guess the whole point of all this is to remind you that your ancestors, too, had pets.  That, amongst all the "facts" ~the birth, marriage, and death dates~ some of your ancestors had a dog that licked their face at the end of a long and arduous day.  They had a cat who jumped on their lap and who purred and "made bread" on their arm.  A pet, a friend, a family member who was loyal and put a smile on their face.  A pet that they named a descriptive term, like "Brownie" because they were brown [and maybe your ancestor had a thing for chocolate?].  Maybe your ancestors gave them an odd nickname, much like they gave their human family members [and I think this is very true when I'm researching and I come across an odd name that makes me think, "What the..."] .  Maybe they named them, "Spud."  You know, like the potato.

Your Turn
So, did your ancestors have any pets?  Do you have photos and/or stories of them?  Do tell...in the comments section...