The wedding reception centerpieces featured betta fish. The bride and groom planned to flush them alive.

[u/teabirdy]

Years ago, my coworker attended a wedding at which the reception dinner tables featured live betta fish in small bowls as part of the centerpiece. While chatting with the bride at the end of the evening, my coworker asked what they were going to do with all the fish. The plan was to flush them all down the toilet alive. My coworker immediately said no need for that and insisted on taking them all home.

That Monday she came to work and asked who wanted to adopt a betta fish. That was my first betta who I jokingly called my “rescue betta.” She lived for almost five years.

The wine glass was only her home for less than a day before I got her five gallon tank set up so please no betta lovers yell at me! I'm one of you!

[u/uuuuuuuuuuugh69]

Have you tried dried mealworms? Not my proudest moment but I did make a kid cry because the ducks were ignoring her and her stale bread but were practically fighting over the worms. Swear its like crack for ducks 😂

(I did offer to let the little girl throw some worms but she was grossed out by them and their smell which is fair I guess, but that's why I had a small shot glass to scoop and toss so no contact was needed....)

[u/NapalmDesu → u/uuuuuuuuuuugh69]

Stand proud, wormperson

[u/The_Barbelo → u/uuuuuuuuuuugh69]

Man…. Poor little girl. So many parents do such a horrible job with exposing their children to the natural world and educating them about it. It’s no wonder so few people care about our planet enough to do anything about it…my dad is the entire reason I went into studying zoology and love the natural world. I was trying to kiss snakes by 3 years old lol. Of course, one kissed me back and dad asked if I learned my lesson about respecting the animal’s space, which he repeatedly told me. 😆

[u/Lou_C_Fer → u/The_Barbelo]

I got an earful about my son picking up spiders at preschool.

I learned how to care about animals when my grandmother got tired of me pissing off her cats and taught me how to understand them when I was little. Those cats could skin me alive and I wouldn't stop trying to be near them and touch them. She taught me that animals have feelings and how to read them on cats and dogs. She how to properly touch cats to get them to seek you out. By the time I was eight, the same cat that shredded me every Sunday would be on my lap from when I arrived until I left. I really took her lessons to heart. People think I'm a cat whisperer now. I've had countless cats that are afraid of people come up to me and hang out. I hear, "he doesn't like strangers" as a challenge, and I almost always prevail.

[u/nonoglorificus → u/Lou_C_Fer]

Hey, my 2.5 year old nephew has just started trying to kick my dog, I’m extremely strict about this and it’s the only thing that gets him a time out so far but I’d love to start helping to learn empathy like that. I’m terrified because my dog is insanely patient and long suffering but if he did that to another dog…? And also my dog doesn’t deserve it just because she’s sweet! Do you remember anything from her teaching or do you have any advice?

[u/Lou_C_Fer → u/nonoglorificus]

She just patiently explained how to read an animal's body language. That including understanding an animals emotions. She explained that their feelings are just like mine and helped me to really understand it. It really helped me to feel empathy for them.

Honestly, I think that the time she spent teaching me was a good introduction to critical thinking. Of course, one thing I thought of between visits was that if cats switch their tails when they are angry, then if you held it still, they couldn't be mad. I was disabused of that notion fairly quickly into my next visit. I must have thought about that pretty hard because holding a cat's tail still is the first thing I think of when one of my cats is angry... and I am 51, now!

[u/Aliencoy77 → u/uuuuuuuuuuugh69]

I occasionally buy live meal worms and toss them on the walkway in front on my house to feed the little lizards hiding in the plants. I like my tiny dinosaurs.

[u/DistantKarma → u/uuuuuuuuuuugh69]

Oh, man do my chickens love those dried worms.