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	Home Videos Photos Press Articles Animals Writing Classes Bellydance Pilates Yoga Contact	The Hermit Crab, The Octopus And The Anemone © Despina Rosales, 2007 Bought by The School Magazine, May 2007 (not yet published) IMPORTANT NOTE: Teachers and parents, feel free to print out my stories, poems or articles to use in class or at home. But please point out to the children that referring to animals as "it" - as I did in these articles - is wrong. Animals should not be given the status of a thing ("it") but rather of a living being ("he" or "she"). I know better now and would like kids to learn from my mistake. The clicking claws of the Hermit Crab tip-toe along the sea bed. An Octopus eye peers over a rock. First with a slow glide, and then with one slick slide the Octopus lands right on the Crab: right on target. Her powerful beak nabs the Crab. Her limbs sway and wriggle before a quick sprint back to the rock where the Crab meets his end. Later, on the other side of town... A different Hermit Crab has a plan: he pries an Anemone from a rock with a tickle from his claw, and places it on his shell. With this tentacled bodyguard on his back, the Crab starts to march. Old enemy Octopus lies in wait, and leaps from his hiding place, landing right on target. But he’s greeted with the anemone's sting! The Octopus’s slithery arms flicker unsurely, and curl away in defeat. With claws fidgeting, and antennae twiddling, the Hermit Crab slowly emerges from his shell, and continues his march across the sea bed.

The Hermit Crab, The Octopus And The Anemone
© Despina Rosales, 2007
Bought by The School Magazine, May 2007 (not yet published)

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Teachers and parents, feel free to print out my stories, poems or articles
to use in class or at home. But please point out to the children that referring
to animals as "it" - as I did in these articles - is wrong. Animals should not be
given the status of a thing ("it") but rather of a living being ("he" or "she").
I know better now and would like kids to learn from my mistake.

The clicking claws

of the Hermit Crab

tip-toe along the sea bed.

An Octopus eye

peers over a rock.

First with a slow glide, and then with

one

slick

slide

the Octopus lands

right on the Crab: right on target.

Her powerful beak

nabs

the Crab.

Her limbs sway and wriggle

before a quick sprint

back to the rock

where the Crab

meets

his end.

Later, on the other side of town...

A different Hermit Crab has a plan:

he pries

an Anemone

from a rock

with a tickle from his claw, and places it on his shell.

With this tentacled bodyguard on his back,

the Crab starts to march.

Old enemy Octopus lies in wait, and

leaps

from

his

hiding place, landing right on target.

But he’s greeted with the anemone's sting!

The Octopus’s slithery arms flicker unsurely,

and curl away in defeat.

With claws fidgeting,

and antennae twiddling,

the Hermit Crab slowly emerges from his shell,

and continues his march across the sea bed.

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi:
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

SAY NO TO PUPPY MILLS! SAY NO TO ANIMALS IN PETSHOPS! SAY NO TO BREEDERS!

At Say No it's estimated that 130,000 dogs and 60,000 cats are killed every year in Australia because there are not enough homes for them all. And the global numbers amount to millions upon millions every single year.

Puppy mills are a major contributor to the terrible problem of overpopulation. Puppy mills are essentially 'dog factories' where dogs are forced to churn out litter after litter, with no thought for the welfare of the dogs and all thought for profit. The dogs live in appallingly dirty, cramped conditions all their lives, and when they no longer serve their purpose they're killed, dumped or sold for cruel and painful medical testing.

Petshops fit into the picture because puppy mills are generally where petshops get their animals from. Furthermore, having animals in shop windows encourages impulse purchases, and adding an animal to your family should be a conscious, careful decision - NOT one to be made while shoe shopping.

Breeders contribute enormously to the tragic statistics above too. And it doesn't matter whether they're professional breeders or backyard breeders, and whether they breed for profit or not, because while there are homeless animals sitting on death row in shelters, any and all animal breeding is utterly irresponsible.

For all these reasons, adopting from a rescue organisation is a far better (and more compassionate) choice than getting an animal from a puppy mill, petshop or breeder. (And remember that desexing is an integral part of being a responsible animal guardian so, if you haven't already, be part of the solution and desex your dog, cat or any other animal in your family.)

If I haven't convinced you, visit your local shelter or go to Death Row Pets to see the homeless animals and let their innocent faces convince you that adopting is the way to go!

"To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being."
- Mahatma Gandhi

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