Petkeeping metaphor

distractedly-tumbles:

So imagine you have this dog.

Your dog is in a bubble.

You can change where the bubble is, change its size, its shape, its contents, everything.

You can interact with your dog through the bubble and from outside the bubble, but you can’t enter the bubble.

You control literally everything about the bubble. You control how much air is inside the bubble. If you leave too many dog poops in the bubble, the smell will grow and could suffocate him. If you don’t add new air, he will suffocate. If you don’t feed him or give him water, he will die. If you don’t put things in his bubble to play with, he will become bored and depressed. If you don’t clean out his bubble, bacteria and fungus will grow in there and give your dog diseases. And your dog’s bubble doesn’t transfer heat well so he can get very cold very easily and die that way.

Now imagine your dog is smaller than your hand. And he has scales. And his bubble is full of water and made of glass and your dog is actually a fish.

Keeping fish is not easier than keeping any other pet.

It’s much more difficult because you aren’t only caring for your fish, you’re caring for their whole universe.