Way back in February (or so), my dad took Poppy out to run some errands. They came home with a pet fish — a beautiful little Beta. Poppy named the poor little boy fish Dorothy, after Elmo’s goldfish, and he spent most of his time swimming around in a vase on the kitchen counter.

Dorothy has been a good and faithful little companion, paying close attention to our culinary adventures and leaping playfully to nab fish food from my finger.

Which is why I am very sad to report that this morning, I found that Dorothy had gone on to his fishy reward.

The worst part is, I’m pretty sure it’s my fault. I changed Dorothy’s water yesterday. I did leave the new water sitting out to acclimate for about 24 hours, but I don’t think I gave the vase enough time to return to its normal temperature after I washed it.

I think I killed Dorothy. And I’m really pretty darn upset about it. I miss that little guy.