Hey all, sorry it has been a week since my last post. We had a death in the Redhead Tilapia Farm family. The loss of our beloved Ayoko Oh-No!, our 3 year old teacup yorkie, really took a toll on all of us here at Redhead Tilapia Farm. So, I decided to take the week off from doing any posting.
The death of our Oh-No! was caused by an interaction she had with a cane toad. These are poisonous toads that were introduced here in the Philippines in 1930 to control pests in sugarcane plantations. These toads now run rampant through many parts of the world, and are highly poisonous. They have poisonous skin and also secrete poison from glands behind their eyes and across their backs. It is highly toxic to small animals and children. There have even been documented cases of human death caused by the consumption of cane toads. The cane toad inhabits open grassland and has a distinct preference for areas that have been modified by humans, such as gardens and drainage ditches . At Redhead Tilapia Farm, we see numerous cane toads each and every night. It wasn't until the death of our beloved family pet, I realized just how serious a threat these toads imposed. It is important for us to keep our small pets indoors after dark as this is when most encounters with these toads occurs.
We love our pets so much, and it's so hard to let them go. The loss of any beloved pet has a drastic impact on our lives and can be equal to or worse than that of losing a human family member. Losing a pet causes extreme anguish and sorrow. This is a natural reaction when you lose a loved one, whether human or animal; and the stages of mourning are the same. Grievers feel the identical shock and denial, anger and guilt, sorrow and depression. I did however notice that taking care of our red tilapia seemed to help me in the grieving process. Taking care of fish can be a great way of dealing with stress and other troubles in your life.
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