My mother's afraid of snakes, though I've tried to tell her they're just legless lizards. Just imagine a lizard without limbs, and you've pretty much got it. Anyway, glad to see that you've got another pet, Great Valley Guardian. Over the years, I've lost a few fish - though the rest of them were given away, I think - a cat, and another one ran off - and we had to give the other two away to a good friend of mine, who had to, eventually, give them to a good friend of his - and I've had seven birds, three of which are still living. All parakeets except for... Bay... (Short for "Baby," none the less...) An English Budgie. Being around keets most of my life, ya know, they're kinda small, so when I saw this variation of keet that was like, three times the typical size... I'd heard of them, but I absolutely fell in love with her... ...It was a grand *gulp* seven months... ...I'd rarely, if ever, cried over the death of a pet, but that hit me hard. She must have slipped off the perch one night, and broken her neck. She was still alive into the next day, until that evening, when lack of food finally caused the eternal sleep of time... To at last come over her... I didn't cry then; I needed to be strong for my mother. It was before that time... Praying... Asking Yahweh to spare this... But I knew that wouldn't be right... How selfish I was. Fortunately, He did not grant my request... (I couldn't even bury her for a MONTH; kept her in a box, out in the cold storage unit... I also wrote a poem about losing her; perhaps I'll post that one soon... She's buried at my other grandma's house, in the back yard. Sometimes, I look out back, to the place... And reminisce. I remember doing that after the end of that Total Lunar Eclipse we just had, about two months ago...) So, Great Valley Guardian, I can totally understand what you've gone through. I'm sure most of us here can. It's no fun when a pet dies... It's very heartbreaking... But, best wishes with your new friend...
"And the Most High said unto Moses, Ahayah-Asher-Ahayah. And he said, Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel, Ahayah hath sent me unto you... This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations."
1953-2011... One day, mother, I shall see you again...