1st entry : my pet history & Pet Preservation My first memory in my life was around the age of two to three. At that time, I was already living with a tiny white rabbit. Every weekend, I used to visit my grandma's house and she kept several cats, too. Unfortunately I had childhood athma, so everytime I see grandma & her cats, I had asthma attacks and my doctor recommended my mom not to visit my grandma. But this experience didn't influence my pet-love preference, I still love fir-ball stuff like cats & dogs. During my kindergarten days, I loved nursing a guinea pig. Even I went on a trip, I put her in a box and brought anywhere. Through the ages of eight to twelve, I started out collecting gerbils, brown ones to black ones. At that time, say around late '80s, gerbils were really unique in Japan. Most of my friends kept hamsters. I kept hamsters (from tiny Djungarian to normal Golden), too, but I prefer gerbils as they're so smart. When I was 10, I moved from the apartment at the center of Tokyo to the house in the suburban city. (I feel kinship of the Gibli's movie "Spirited Away" which is my favorite, as the movie starts from the scene Chihiro, the leading character & 10 year old girl, is moving) So I could finally have my first dog. Then followed by 2 cats. I was a only kid so my dog was just like my young brother. At the same time, I still continued keep small animals like hamsters, rats, mice, fish and newt. 24 years later, now, first generation all passed away. I overcame some petloss depression period and now I live with dogs and cats again. By the way, the other day I noticed a unique American TV program called "American Stuffers : A Show About Pet Preservation." This program is featuring pet owners who'd like to preserve their pets in the style of "stuffed." Maybe it sounds gross, but the stuffer's skill is so marvelous and artistic that the stuffed animals are just like alive. And the price is only $500 - $700. I can understand what the owners feel like when they faced their dear pets' deaths and in fact I am the one who really wanted to make my dog stuffed and see him forever,,,(I know it's a gross idea, but I was desperate at that time.) In Japan, recentlly I can hear about this type of business, but it's not common yet.(& at the time when my dog passed away, it was too rare.)