Two Pet Frogs
Posted: Sunday, March 14, 2010
by Jack H. Schick
While we were sitting on his back porch in Florida one tepid evening my brother told me the story of his pet frog. We could both chuckle at some aspects of the tale, but it was actually sad. It showed quite a bit of his nature, which I decided was good. It also brought to mind several frog stories of my own.
My brother bought a "handyman's special" house with property in a rural area of Pinellas. It required an expert handyman. His skills are way above average, so he did a fine job on the place and made a good profit when he sold. The place had a swimming pool. It held water just fine, but it hadn't been attended to in years. All sorts of Florida flora and fauna had taken up residence. It looked more like a backyard fish pond than a swimming pool.
He hunted for it the next morning. It startled him when it made a terrific croak, a long arching leap and splashed like a rock tossed into the pond. It was huge. He watched it swim under water with long powerful strokes. It crossed the pool and came up next to a floating plant; just its eyes visible above the water, ogling him. He soon realized that the big bullfrog had a dozen little friends. They squeaked and splashed as he circled the pool.
It was boom times in Florida . My brother had a full time job and construction materials were at premium price so it took quite some time before he got to the pool clean up. Meanwhile, he'd grown fond of his pet frog, and the frog had grown accustomed to him. He enjoyed sitting on the porch and listening to the croaking chorus. The little peepers' songs and the occasionally bellowing comments of the king went on through the nights.
When he finally tackled the job of fixing up the pool, my brother was so excited over the project that he forgot to consider the consequences. When he came home from work the day the pool had been drained he saw his big bullfrog in the bottom, not moving. He jumped in and picked up his old friend. He was still alive, but couldn't move.
He rushed the bullfrog to the veterinary hospital. It was after hours and he got the emergency doctor. She was a little surprised at first. She'd never treated a bullfrog before. After careful examination it was determined that the frog had leaped into the dry pond and broken his back when he landed on cement, face first. My brother admitted that both he and the vet shed a few tears over the tragedy. She euthanized my brother's pet frog.
I have an old faded Polaroid photo of my brother and me in the front yard. We both are holding small frogs. We were about seven. I remember the day clearly. We'd caught them in the creek next to the house. Mine had only one eye. His right one was shriveled and clouded. After my dad took the picture, we put them in a bucket on the creek bank and went for a ride with him in the car. When we got back the bucket was knocked over and the frogs were gone. I was very disappointed and upset that I'd lost my pet frog. In retrospect, I think my mom let them go.
Years later, I must have been twelve; I was wading in the creek a half mile down stream hunting turtles and frogs. A huge bullfrog leapt off the bank and into the stream. I saw where he burrowed himself into the bottom mud and stealthily waded up to him. I grabbed him and pulled him up. I was shocked and elated. He had a shriveled and clouded right eye! It was my pet frog, all grown up.
I brought him home and put him in the creek by the house. For weeks I'd hear him croaking and bellowing at night. Sometimes I see him sitting on the bank waiting for a moth or dragonfly to come close.
Kids hunted frogs back then, so when ever we saw anyone in our creek we'd chase them away. One time a couple of older boys were there. My dad told them to leave and they got mouthy with him. They told him that he didn't own the creek, which he didn't. He yelled at them and finally chased them away.
It was a few days later. It was a nice warm summer day, I remember clearly, the lawn grass was long and dark green, the leaves of the red bud tree rippled gently in a slight breeze. The branches hung low toward the ground so I had to duck down under them. I saw something in the grass under the tree. I went over. It was a large bullfrog with his legs cut off. It was just the head and torso laying in my yard. It had a shriveled and clouded right eye.
A frog isn't a dog. A frog isn't a cat. A frog isn't even a hamster or a parakeet. But those two frogs were pets. Pets are more than dumb animals. As I always have said, pets exist for one purpose. They are another way for people to express love. With love comes loss. With loss comes tears. Those two amphibians have special placed in my brother's and my hearts.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)Jack,No matter what type of animal it is, our pets always hold a special place in our hearts. Mine was a sweet Scharpei dog named Capone, and I really miss him. We look back fondly at the experiences with these beloved pets. I love the way you wrote the article, very interesting, and it kept me wanting to read on. Thank you.No, thank you for reading, Kim
I enjoy reading your articles, Jack. It is true, once you give your heart to a pet, handling the loss of the pet is hard.Thanks for saying that, Lorrie. It makes me want to continue.
OK now it is your turn to give me some inspiration! Loved this one - guess we all have bull frogs in our past?I've thought about how to. I'll email you soon, friend.
What a sad but beautiful story. You really moved me.Thank you so much, Jennifer. Read my "Unrequited Live?" and "Come Rest Her With Me", then you may like them too.
Great article. If we all shared your love and compassion this world would be much better then it is today. We all need to recall our great child-hood memories more often to get back to a "simpler time" when life was about living, not about just getting by.Thanks for reading
You touched my heart with this one Jack. I too used to have pet frogs in the summer down by the lake. I think my sister used to dump them back into the water after a couple of days.good for her- thanks for reading my older ones
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