"Donald Kerns" wrote in message
...
Sigh,

I was watching Seasame Street with my daughter this morning. Elmo takes
his pet goldfish "Dorthy" to the vet.

"Dorthy" is probably a 2.5" SL fish, being show in... oh... 1/2 - 2/3s
of a gallon of water in a bowl.

The vet pronounces "Dorthy" completely healthy and says that Elmo is
taking very good care of it.

[zoom in on fish]
"Dorthy" is hovering near the bottom, fins as tightly clenched as I've
ever seen. Even looks a bit de-colored.

That was one STRESSED fish.

Sigh.

-Donald
--
"There is nothing so strong as gentleness, and there is nothing so
gentle as real strength." St. Francis de Sales

It's very frustrating how children's programming perpetuates myths about
what animals like. I just talked my daughters through an episode of Dora
the Explorer, a show I normally love. However in today's episode, Dora is
helping a lion who wants to join the circus. So, we had a chat about what
animals would actually prefer and how sometimes animal trainers are not very
kind to lions & other animals.

I feel for Elmo's goldfish, but be glad you're able to help your daughter
understand how fish really like to be kept. I also intend to write to the
show's producers. The more people make themselves heard, the better the
chance of eliminating these stereotypes.

Jacqui