Goldfish are like little science experiments. We take them from open waters, force them to smaller enclosures where they mingle with other species they may not have known existed, then move them to isolation  to see if they will live or die in the next few weeks, fed about once a day with artificial paper thin flakes instead of their normal diet out in nature. Some fish prefer isolation, those such as beta fish who fight among their species, others dwell in their lonely little globe forever. Fish, however, have the memory span of approximately 3 seconds, so I doubt they have these kind of thoughts. If they did, it would be a momentary depression, then they would go back to swimming in their own bodily fluids.

Fish trapped in small containers don't live very long to begin with, living and eating in the same filthy water for days or even weeks at a time. That is until it gets so filthy the god-like giant who pours those artificial flakes removes you, places you in an even smaller container, and cleans your habitat. Then it's back to the daily grind of doing lap after lap after lap in your lonely little globe, never knowing the feeling of love from another fishy companion. In fact the only attention you can recall you ever got was- oh yeah. You can't remember.

Lobsters mate for life. For all we know there could be little tiny lobster weddings going on right now at the bottom of the ocean. The lobster groom with a sea urchin corsage, and the little lobster bride with a  seaweed veil. Lobsters can't really put on rings because they don’t have fingers so they just stay close together to let others know they are off the market. Both of them scouring the ocean floor together claw in claw, dancing and scuttling past their other married lobster acquaintances.

  As for the little lobsters who live in restaurants and grocery store tanks they will probably never be able to mate for life. Unless they already had a little lobster lady they looked after and loved. Perhaps some found their mate in that tank and saw their new-found love be ripped away from their meaty claws. Others may just stay single in that little tank until the hand chooses them.

The ones who were fortunate enough to escape the fisherman's net will live out their days scuttling around, seeing their friends get picked off one by one and continue their line of lobster children. The partners who had their love interest ripped away have a choice- live out their days as a hermit with no love life or just move right on. Who needed that lobster anyway? The one down the fish block has way better claws.

When a mouse scurries into your house it is looking for warmth, shelter, or simply a meal for the night. They, for the most part, stay out of our way only doing their mousey deeds at night. They may have a few incontinence spells here and there, but is it really their fault if they can't control themselves? As they search for crumbs left over for days not only are they cleaning up your mess but they are feeding their mouse families.

How do humans react to these uninvited guests? With traps meant to lure them in with a meal and snap their necks, or inhumane glue traps where the live mouse is stuck to it, aware and starving. We torment and eliminate these small animals we think of as pests when they really only want some shelter from the cold and dangerous outdoors. Some people have no remorse for them either, as if the mouse was going to take over their house and sit out on their lawn on Sunday evenings in lawn chairs sipping tea with a big hat and glasses. A mouse wouldn’t do that though. They just want to survive the night and that was their best option.