Where Do You Draw the Line When Watching A Neighbor’s Pet?
Will you clean the litter box, walk the dog, catch live bugs?
My childhood was filled with several family pets — mostly cats and dogs.
I also nursed a fallen baby bird back to health. And I had a pet turtle for a few months until it escaped only to be found when we moved years later. (An appropriate shoebox burial was provided.)
Yet once I became an adult, I felt no need to keep a pet.
College, travel and work did not allow for it — especially if you believe, like I do, that having a pet requires a generous share of your time, resources and love. And to offer any less commitment is unfair to the pet.
So, I’ve not owned a pet since my late teens.
My husband had been a pet owner. But his most recent, a cat from his previous divorce, was adopted by one of his adult sons. So he was pet-less when we met.
And if I felt the need to hear a cat purr or play fetch with a dog — I could just visit one of my neighbors.
By default, I’d become the “go-to” pet sitter for several in the neighborhood.
Bunnies. Cats. Dogs. Gerbils. Parrots. I’ve cared for quite a menagerie over the last four decades.
Never a tarantula.
But I have a friend who occasionally cares for a tarantula — owned by the son of his next-door neighbor.
Tawapie’s vivarium was sitting on the dining room table during my recent visit. The thick plexiglass box has a matrix of pinhole-sized breathing holes on two sides. There’s a secure latch on the lid which opens for accessibility.
My friend says Tawapie’s care is simple. Almost effortless.
Tarantulas are desert creatures. A single spray of water inside the terrarium once every day or two suffices. It can be done quickly without the worry of Tawapie scaling the walls.
Feeding — about once a week — there’s the rub.
The tarantula escaping isn’t the concern — the flight risk comes from the live cockroaches that must be placed inside the box to feed Tawapie.
The cockroaches are a special breed — ordered through the mail — stored in the refrigerator — they are small. Tweezers must be used to pick up the insects.
That’s the first challenge. Catching cockroaches with tweezers.
Then, the vivarium lid must be opened, bugs inserted and lid closed all before the cockroaches have an opportunity to escape. From what I surmise, the cockroaches are much faster than Tawapie at feeding time.
But my friend is ‘father’ of two adult rescue dogs. He walks them at least three times a day. So he does not shy from challenges.
And frankly catching cockroaches with a pair of tweezers seems a lot less tedious than scooping out a litter box. Which I’ve done plenty of in my lifetime.
