Posted on 04/14/2024 2:51:31 AM PDT by Morgana
An Oklahoma family had no idea that a birthday gift for their nine-year-old son would lead to the birth of 50 octopus babies, numerous water tanks that took over half of a bathroom, and thousands of dollars on food supplies and water damage repairs.
Cameron Clifford, a 36-year-old dentist, said his son Cal had been obsessed with octopuses since the age of three.
'Every birthday, every Christmas, every holiday, he would always say: 'All I want is an octopus,'' Clifford told the New York Times.
In October, Clifford made a call to a local aquarium store and acquired a female California two-spot octopus for Cal's ninth birthday. They named her Terrance.
Terrance turned out to be larger than expected and soon began laying eggs. Clifford documented the journey on TikTok, where his videos amassed millions of views from 400,000 followers.
'Do not get a pet octopus unless you're ready to lose sleep and your kids' college fund simultaneously,' he told USAToday, jokingly.
When Clifford told his son that they could order an octopus from a local aquarium store, the nine-year-old immediately burst into tears.
'His ultimate dream, his cloud nine, the greatest thing that could ever possibly happen in one's life had just become a possibility, and he just broke down,' Clifford said.
'My friends and family, of course, all, as you probably imagine, said to me, 'Well, now you have to get it for him. You can't just dangle that in front of him and then turn around and just flatline that dream.'' the father added.
The father and son began preparing for the arrival of the pet octopus, which they named Terrence.
Clifford ordered a saltwater tank, a water cycling system and food supplies for Terrence, mostly from Facebook marketplace. He thought it would cost around $600.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Calamari is great.
Flat Cats Factorial, or, The Trouble With Tribbles.
Spay or neuter your octopus.
I think there’s a pet derangement syndrome, whereby the person is obligated to take in any stray that comes their way.
How many people do you know who have ten cats or five dogs, and all strays.
Why not release the babies into the ocean?
Or flush them down the toilet?
Or eat them
You beat me by an hour
Dude that is mean!
Just plan a vacation at the beach and “Free Willy...and his siblings”.
I hear in Japan they love to eat Octopus. That is why I said he should sell them to a Japanese restaurant.
Sounds like a sticky situation.
Korean BBQ baby octopus is pretty good too.
The story is almost another illustration of open borders.
I’ve never had that before. I’ll have to give it a try.
The dad is stupid for getting a pet octopus and stupider for not knowing how to get rid of them
I’m not so sure what they are so up in arms about.
Wow, it's like Cal Worthington and his dog Spot, only different.
If you want some better luck don't see Cal
If you'll embrace the suck, go see Cal... 🐙
Maybe not different. Cal even had an octopus (0:49) --
For my brother’s 50th birthday party, he had it at a bar where for a dollar, you could play a machine and win a lobster. My niece was about 7 and all her uncles were giving her $1 bills to play. Of course she won one and wanted to take it home. The bar gave her dad a voucher for a lobster dinner. At first she wanted to keep it but thankfully she gave it up without a fight.
Aha! The real motivation is revealed.....it was all for the views.
That’s why he should have purchased a puppy 🐶 or a kitten 🐱 instead.
” Normal is not coming back, but Jesus will. “
That was on a sign at a campground we used last year. Pretty good.
That’s true.
Dump ‘em out on the driveway on a hot summer day. Then compost ‘em. Good for the garden.
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