Most pets don't last long. Dogs ten years, cat maybe a bit more and as for those wasters like hamsters, gerbils and mice you're lucky if they can be bothered to last three. However if you want longevity with minimum maintenance you can't go wrong with goldfish. Yes goldfish. I recently heard of a man who has one approaching its mid forties. His father had purchased the aquatic companion from a shop in 1960 and it had passed to the next generation when the gentlemen in question died recently. The secret to Piscean long life? Apparently fish flakes, a regular change of water and no stress. To think this goldfish has lived though man landing on the moon, the assassination of Kennedy, the 1966 World Cup, Thatcherism, two and a half decent Star Wars movies and he can’t remember any of it!