“He was like, ‘I’m struggling. Please help me.’”
A few years ago, Heather Adamson was walking through a pet store when something suddenly caught her eye — an eel, clearly in distress, thrashing upside down in a cramped tank.
“He was … panicking,” Adamson told The Dodo. “He was like, ‘I’m struggling. Please help me.’”
Although she wasn’t an expert in eel care, Adamson could see he was in serious trouble and likely wouldn’t survive much longer. Without hesitation, she made a snap decision: she was taking him home.
“As soon as I saw the eel in that condition, something came over me and I just had to help,” she said.
Once home, Adamson dove into research about eel care. She quickly discovered that the salinity level in the pet store’s tank had been incorrect — a likely reason the eel had been swimming upside down in distress.
She set up a new tank with the proper salt concentration and hoped for the best. Just two days later, something incredible happened: the eel righted himself and began to swim normally. It was a promising sign.
Adamson named him Lazarus — a fitting name for a creature who seemed to come back from the brink. She even added a small mushroom-shaped shelter to the tank, which quickly became his favorite hideaway.
“He swirled around in the house, examined it, and then decided he loved the little left window,” Adamson said with a smile.
Four days after his rescue, Lazarus finally took his first bite of food. From that moment on, his appetite returned full force.
“The eel is hyped up to live — loves eating,” Adamson said.
As the days passed, Adamson realized she and Lazarus had more in common than she expected.
“[As] a homebody who just loves to eat, me and Lazarus have a lot in common,” she said.
Although she would’ve loved to keep him forever, Adamson eventually chose to place Lazarus in the care of a true eel expert — someone equipped to provide the best long-term home possible. It was a bittersweet decision, but one made with love.
For a brief time, Adamson was Lazarus’ mom — and thanks to her quick thinking and compassion, he was given a second chance at life.