If you follow Miley Cyrus at all, you already know what a huge animal lover she is. Aside from going vegetarian—because animals are friends, not food—Miley posts all the time about her family of rescued dogs and cats.
Earlier this year, Miley was devastated by the death of her beloved blowfish Pablow, posting about the loss to her more than 20 million Instagram followers and even memorializing Pablow with a new tattoo.
Yesterday, Miley posted a video on her Facebook page in which she sings a heartfelt, emotional tribute to Pablow. The video shows her eventually breaking down in tears as she reminisces about her love for Pablow but also as she reflects on keeping an animal meant for the ocean confined to a tank:
How can I love someone I’ve never touched?
You lived under the water, but I love you so much.
You’ve never been on land, and you’ve never seen the sky.
You don’t know what a cloud is.
Why did everything I love have to die?
They all wanted to see you be as big as you could be,
But I couldn’t let that be,
Thought keeping you small meant keeping you safe.
If I could do it again, I’d release you to the sea
‘Cause I can’t bear to see something so wild just die in a tank.
Fish from pet stores are captured from the wild or bred in captivity. They spend their lives in plastic bags or bowls that don’t provide the space or the oxygen that they need to thrive and be happy.