How I got my Betta Fish (a how-to guide on getting a pet)

It was a cloudy Sunday morning. I was leaning against the window. I was not in the best mood that morning. I had just been refused a dog. Each time I asked for a dog, the answer was a stubborn 'no'. The exact dog breed I really wanted was a golden retriever. Maybe a poodle even. First of all, my dad is against dogs and then our house was carpeted in all of the rooms. And there was a chance the dog might pee on the carpet. Secondly, our house is small, so the dog would not have much play-space in the house. We could fence our backyard but that's costly. Finally, we travel a lot, and having a dog would be difficult to manage during the trips. So the expenses for a dog are too high. In fact, the dog itself is about $4,000 to $5,000, if we buy it from a breeder. 

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I was devastated when I learned the costs and maintenance of a puppy. So, soon after, I reluctantly stopped talking about it. For a brief period of time, after that, I then entertained the subject of a hamster. But, then I learned that there was not a small hamster that is good for beginners available at my local pet store. Also, we did not have a good place to put a hamster villa. And I did not want a hamster to live in a small space like a small cage. 

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After about a week, even that subject was dropped. So, I was sulking on a cloudy Sunday morning. Then I decided to just get on my computer and look up some random cool facts. That always made me feel better. I looked through a list of twenty facts. The last one was this: "betta fish can breathe on land." First of all, at that time, I did not know what a betta fish was. I wanted to research a little deeper into the subject. After lots of research, I found a perfect website for information about betta fish. There were many helpful discussions on betta fish care. There was even a section where you can ask any questions about the fish care. Click on the link below if you want to visit the website: 

https://bettafish.org/

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As I found out more and more about betta fish, I started to portray them as cool pets. If I can't have a dog or a hamster, why not a fish? What I did first to get the attention of my parents was this: I would drop random facts about bettas at random times. Though, I would not recommend you do this because it will seem that everything you ever talk about is a betta fish. 

Soon, my parents got the hint that I really wanted a betta fish. One night, I was asking my friend how she convinced her parents to get a dog. There was one simple explanation: She made a slideshow. The slideshow had to include these three simple things: the cost, what are the benefits to your family, and why do you want a fish (pet). This slideshow trick works for all. In my case, I made a separate slide for each of my parents. Here are a few things one should include in the pet slideshow:

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1. The cost for everything (including the pet itself.) For example, if you want a dog, include the cost dog too.

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2. You must include why you want a pet. For me, I said that I get lonely at times. If you are not a single child does not use this excuse. 

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3. Include benefits of getting the pet. I included both health and emotional benefits for me and my parents.

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Here is my slide show to convince my parents:

Click on the link below if you want to visit the website I learned everything from: 

https://bettafish.org/

Those were the things you must include in your slideshow. If you do not want to do a slideshow then you can write an essay or speech. What my family did, is take a video of my presentation and post it on my personal youtube channel. We sent it to all our family members. If they thought the slide show was convincing enough, they could vote 'yes'. If 95% of the people we share video with, said yes, then I would get a betta fish. So, I got 95% approval within 30 minutes of sharing the video. 

Well, loyal readers, this is how I got a betta fish on Oct 25th, 2020.  I am also attaching a picture of my betta fish named Luv (nicknamed LuLu.) 

You can recommend this idea to your family members. 

 I am also attaching a video showing some other ways to get a pet. 

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Love Kaayana.