i had a beta fish too... but like a little kid, i somehow managed to let it die... i also had a salamander for at least 3 years... he somehow got chopped up by the lawnmower or something, but he managed to crawl up to the back patio missing it's tail and 2 legs when i spotted him... my parents told me his limbs would grow back so i kept him to see it happen... but i forgot to water it for a few days or it just died, can't really remember... it was pretty old for a salamander though, i used to buy crickets for it all the time... again, life lessons you learn as a kid seeing beloved pets die...
i've buried a few cats in my time too, and had to take one of the family cats to the vet to be put down because of a urinary tract infection, and the extremely expensive bill that it would have been to fix the situation... and because no one else could muster up the courage to do it...
here's the best recent photos i have of my cat, smokey... too bad the ipod sucks at taking photos...