Eric Newton

We started when my children were in college and I could work from home. There are training classes at least once a week and there's a fair amount of travel to get to them. We said hello to you when we were checking out of the hotel at Aquashella; we had black Labrador retriever. Enjoyed your talk, and as always, the videos.

Everyone asks "isn't it hard to give them up?" Well, yes, yes it is. Very. Hard. You know the deal when you start, and we work very hard to make sure they're ready. We get sad when they are doing well in their training. "Aww... the end is coming." We turn one in, and get a fresh one, and start all over again with cute-little-know-nothing. That's why I like fish... keep 'em for life, and no house training!

I kept fish from 1997-2005. I had FW stingrays, african cichlids, a fish-only SW tank, etc. Then I moved, downsized dramatically and all the big tanks had to go. I ended up dropping out of the hobby altogether. In 2019 I decided to jump back in. I began watching youtube videos to catch up on all the advances over the intervening 14 years. So, ya, lights are a lot better (LEDs) and impossibly, heaters seem to be worse. Planted tanks and shrimp are everywhere! I started with a 150G discus tank. And of course that needs a quarantine tank. And there are some smaller, cooler water species I'd like to keep. And... so now I'm up to 4 tanks and an outdoor tub, and planning more.

Not exactly pets... here are the dogs my partner and I raised for the Guide Dog Foundation. The middle two are working guides. The one on the left is in training. The little yellow lab is being raised to be a service dog for America's Vet Dogs and is the only one still at home. It was a rare visit and moment to see them all together again.