Friday, July 14, 2017

There Is Literally Nowhere You Will Not Be Judged On The Internet (and also, The Bitch is Back!)

OMG, y’all, I just can’t even right now.  Why are people such assholes?  I mean I get that people get into all kinds of arguments on Facebook and Twitter when discussing opinions or mistaken perceptions of reality--I’ve been there myself many times.  But Nextdoor?  Seriously?  Nextdoor is supposed to be the helpful, neighborly, recommendations and hey, anyone-have-a-cheap-dresser-for-sale place.  Can’t this one semi-social forum be safe from controversy?  Is there nothing sacred?!  Apparently not.  The following is a post I made, an innocent freaking post about some koi fish that had been left in my pond by my tenant (who not incidentally had skipped out on her last two months’ rent and left my husband and me to clean up the pigsty/garbage dump of a place that was/is our home).  Apparently, she had also left behind her fish, but neglected to let us know, so they’d been hanging out in my pond, slowly drowning in their own feces without proper oxygenation or food for almost a week before I discovered them.  I posted about it on FB to get some advice, which I received, and also posted on Nextdoor, thinking there might be someone locally who already had koi, understood koi, and maybe wanted to buy them for cheap.  Here’s my original post (I’m deleting my name and neighborhood info):  


Abandoned Koi!

Y'all my renter left behind her koi in my pond and I just realized it now, one week later!  If anyone is experienced with koi and would like to buy some koi cheap if they can retrieve them, please contact me.  There are maybe six adults that I've seen and at least a dozen babies.  The water is getting murkier b/c I can't turn on my pump for my waterfall or they will get sucked up and die--she had an alternate oxygenator I am going to try and hook back up temporarily.  If no one responds by this afternoon, I am going to call the Atlanta Koi rescue, thanks :).  You can text me at ***.***.****.
2d ago · 87 neighborhoods in General
ReplyReply


Innocent enough, right?  I’m just looking primarily to save the koi.  Maybe I’ll make a few dollars but really, if no one experienced steps forward, I’m going to donate them and save their lives at least.  And most people were great, I received several text messages, advice, etc., like this:


Diane Giangrande, Kiveton Park/Brook Green·2d ago
The Atlanta Koi Club does rescue. If interested contact rescue@atlantakoiclub.org
Thanked!
1 Thank


And this nice guy:
William Farley, Brickleberry·1d ago
I have a empty Koi pond currently and would like to have some reasonable priced Koi. William Farley 678-***-****
Thanked!
1 Thank


And this nice person:
Suzanne Mahaney, Hamilton Commons·1d ago
Someone recently gave us 13 Koi after they decided to close their pond.  We caught them all with a fish net and they have been doing great in our pond for a few months now.  And we have no problem with them being sucked up in our waterfall.  They are the easiest pets we've ever had!
Thanked!
1 Thank
Basically, there were several, similar, nice responses.  But then there was this woman.  This woman, for some reason felt the need to try and publicly shame me for attempting to possibly make a few dollars in the process of saving the fish.  Like for real.  Like I was charging for a human child.


Melissa Marbourg, Cottages of Roswell·2d ago
Why would you sell them? Why wouldn't you just give them to somebody who could take care of them?
Thank
3 Thanks
And then, the less-offensive, subtle shaming of this woman who laments that the fish wound up being donated to a group outside of our neighborhood.  
Amy Longstreth, The Crabapple Chase·1d ago
Bummer, apparently all of these Koi went to a rescue, I would have ❤️ to have seen them stay in the vicinity, where they could be enjoyed by local families.
Thank


Wait, what? I was shocked there was ONE Koi rescue in the Atlanta area, this broad thinks I should be concerned with keeping the fish LOCALLY?  Seriously?  I can’t even.  
Look, moving is a stressful thing and having your tenant skip out on rent and discover they’ve left your place a disaster only adds to it.  Throw in the fact that I also had a flood in my home yesterday due to a leaky toilet that went undetected ALL NIGHT LONG and admittedly, I might be just slightly homicidal touchy at the moment, but I just had to respond to these bitches neighbors “right quick” as they say here in the south.  So, here’s what I wrote on Nextdoor, which is apparently another social media outlet rife with controversy and not helpful to my peace of mind and YES, I feel better now, thank you.  People are assholes but then again, so am I.  I really wanted to title it “The Bitch is Back!”
Susan Mehalick·Just now
Thanks everyone, I was overwhelmed by the response.  Here's what occurred shortly after my post:  The Atlanta Koi Rescue guy, Michael Walton, advised me to go ahead and immediately turn on my pump/waterfall since that would provide some immediate aeration.  He felt the adult fish would be strong enough to avoid the suction of the pump.  There might be one or two baby casualties but it was worth the risk, so that's what I did.  As predicted, most of the fish did avoid the pump, but one little guy didn't make it.  Oddly though, the pond became even murkier and filled with a foam--Michael says b/c there must have been some chemical in there.  At that point I was really panicking and agreed to have Michael come over after work and begin a rescue.  Michael was wonderful--he brought all necessary equipment, drained the pond down very low so we could identify and trap the fish, gave me tons of information and advice and even cleaned out the bottom of my pond for me all at his own time and expense.  As it turns out, and he says this is a common occurrence, many of the fish turned out to be goldfish and there were only two koi.  Since I am not prepared to care properly for the koi, I let Michael take them.  One of them had an ulcer which is apparently common.  He (it was a boy) will receive medical treatment and then both fish will be transferred/donated to a senior living facility with a humongous pond and many other koi.  At Michael's reassurance that the goldfish would be hearty enough to survive my pond's environment, I decided to let them remain and live out their happy little fish lives here with us.  If any of you are ever in need of someone knowledgeable and kindhearted to assist you with the care of your koi, I would highly recommend you contact Michael Walton with Atlanta Koi Rescue.  He has a FB page and can be reached at 770.895.9252.

Now, I'd like to take a moment to respond to Melissa Marbourg who asked "Why would you sell them? Why wouldn't you just give them to somebody who could take care of them?"  Dear Melissa, surely you read in my post that I asked for someone with knowledge/experience with koi and would ask only a small price in exchange for them actually "capturing" and safely transporting them to a new home.  This is b/c I did not want someone who just thought, hey, I'd like to have some koi to throw in my pond, who might very well endanger them by not capturing, transferring or keeping them properly.  I have no idea how much the koi would be worth exactly but knew enough to know that they can be very expensive and since my tenant skipped out on her last two month's rent and left me with tons of garbage cleanup and damage, I thought I could both save the fish AND make a few dollars.  Melissa, maybe money is not a concern for you and you are fortunate enough to not be in position where someone has put you on the hook for thousands of dollars of out-of-pocket expenses that were unanticipated or if they did, you had plenty of money readily available to compensate without blinking an eye. Unfortunately, I am not that person.  Everything we own, my husband and I worked hard to achieve and we work hard to maintain.  If money were no object, frankly, I would have kept the koi and called an expert to assist me in maintaining the pond for them.  Furthermore, if I didn't primarily give a sh*% about the welfare of the fish I would have just kept them or sold them to whomever wanted them, regardless of their experience.  So, I will have to respond to your question with a question of my own--why would YOU, Melissa Marbourg of Roswell Cottages, feel the need to attempt to publicly shame me about this?  Are you seriously that bored/judgemental/petty/mean-spirited (choose one)?  On Nextdoor?  

Also, Amy Longstreth, sorry but there were no local, Roswell Koi Rescue people to call and I am not in a position to nor am I inclined to set one up.  Yes, it would have been nice if they could have stayed local I suppose, but they're going to be enjoyed by some sweet, elderly people who will admire and appreciate them.  Do I feel badly about that?  No, I do not feel badly about it.
I saved the freaking fish people, I gave them away for a good cause.  I didn't make any money and I don't care.  Please get a life.  Jesus H.

That is all.

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