All summer, Camden was sad about not having a pet. We actually have a pet (our Dog Abbey), but very generously, my parents offered to watch her for us, as we are living over here. It is extremely difficult to be a pet owner in Germany. Dogs must be trained and walked by law 1 hour a day. Sometimes we joke that they treat their pets better than we (as society) treat our children. On the upside, dogs are allowed in restaurants, stores, airports etc. We have no fenced in yard (or a yard at all for that matter) and it would be very difficult! O.K. so getting back to Camden's desire for an animal. We have 3 small aquarium type homes, and we thought we could just go to the pet store and buy a frog or a turtle or a small animal that we could enjoy over here. Well - that was not the case. The Germans are very leary of selling any animal (small or big) to us. The excuse in this case (specifically for these animals mentioned) was that our cages were not big enough for their standard. Camden was devastated on more than one occassion thinking that this would be the day he would have his "pet" only to find out that it would not be possible. Making a long story even longer...Finally we decided on a Hermet Crab - all of the specifications fit perfectly. Camden used his Birthday Money, and "Hermie" (the crab) was finally home. After more research, we found that these animals really like having a friend, and so alas, we had "Zack" - all through Camden's own money and desire. Camden ADORED these two little fellas. He would play with them, he created a playmobile themepark out of blocks for them, he bought them rocks, trees, and shells. He wrote at school about them, and showed ALL of our neighbors his "pets." Earlier this past week, Camden woke up to find that both of his pets had passed away. We aren't sure what happened, but think it must have been the food or water for them both to be gone at the same time. You can imagine that Camden was absolutely devastated! It would have definitely been a day for him to stay home from school if I had not had to go to work - it was one of those mornings as a parent that is absolutely dreadful! We talked about how often when people pass away, loved ones gather to talk about the good memories - so that night we gathered as a family and remembered all of the fun times with Hermie and Zack. This weekend we had a burial here in Bamberg at a beautiful spot that we can always visit them in. Camden is doing better, and we decided that for a while anyway, we are going to wait to get get any type of pet. The lessons that kids (and adults for that matter) must learn are so difficult sometimes! We miss you Hermie and Zack!
2 comments:
Grampa and Grandmommy are very sorry to hear about Hermie and Zack Camden. We know how much you really wanted to have your own pet. We all love our pets, and they are so special in our lives. It's too bad that most pets just don't have the lifespan that us humans have, but in their lifespans they give us their whole lifetime of unconditional pleasure. I'm sure you took very good care of them. It's really impossible to know why their lives were so short, but it's not impossible to know that you loved them very much, and that's the most important thing of all.
Camden, strangely enough we had a class discussion this week on death. The children wanted to know why things have to die? We listed a few things on a chart, but the main lesson learned was that all things have to die even plant life. Everything is born to die. What is important is how we care for and love life while we have it. That way we can have special memories and always know we did our best. I am truly sorry for your loss. Just know that time has a miraculous way of healing our hurt. Take care. I think of you all often. Love, gp
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