goodbye

i just buried spotty under the snow. it's been snowing all day here today. he was the second spotty frog. it was when the first spotty, a dwarf frog, died that we got the tadpoles. i blogged about it. that's what this is. you can scroll down to read the story, from the bottom up, in chronological order, if you'd like.

anyway, the first few times i thought he was dead, and went to fish him out of the tank, he started moving around. noticed he hadn't moved in a few hours, and figured that was that. it was. i feel better now.

the skinny one is still hanging in there. he looks so old. so worn out. the other three seem fine now. not entirely sure what happened. we'll keep a close watch on them.

goodbye

i don't know why some people have to make fun of every perceived weakness in everyone else. i don't know why, if you show these people your soft underbelly, why do they always have to poke at it ever after?

my frogs are dying. i am sad and upset about this. three of them might make it, but the other two are definitely goners. i'm going to have to bury my pets today. they taught me a lot. and now i have to let them go, a good bit sooner than i thought i would. goodbye has never come easy for me. and when it's goodbye forever, that is far and away more difficult.

i'll be okay. eventually. right now i need some time alone if i can't have a shoulder to cry on. and today i can have neither of those things. i have to go to the dentist instead.

Rest in peace, dear Spotty

We buried Spotty in the garden, wrapped up in red tissue paper, next to DD's marigolds. She said she was sad, and I told her that even though his body is gone, he will always be with her in her memories. We talked about how he jumped and swam around, how he would glide to the bottom of the aquarium, and it made her feel better to know that he will always be with her in her memories. Now she's finally getting excited about the tadpoles, trying to think up some good names for them. I believe one will have to be Spotty. She said earlier, when Spotty first started seeming not-quite-right, that she wanted another frog and would name it Spotty, but she may change her mind between now and then.

Spotty still hasn't croaked

Spotty, the dwarf African frog, is still alive. Barely. We had decided to bury him in the garden with our flowers. He had been laying on his back in the same corner of the fish tank, not moving, all day long. But when I reached in to get him out of there, he kicked. Feebly, nothing like a healthy frog would kick, but he's not dead yet. I brought him to the surface for some air and gently put him on top of the decorative plant where he always liked to rest and where maybe it would be easier for him to come to the top for air. He has moved his legs a little bit, but other than that is exactly where I left him last night. DD is sad, but has not shed any tears for her little frog. She has seen many fish die and knows all about the cycle of life. I also told her back when we got the frog that we didn't know if he'd live very long (you just never know with petstore animals how healthy they are, how well they've been taken care of, or how old they are when you get them). *sigh* poor Spotty.... we did everything we could to make his life a little better. Maybe he hurt himself eating too many guppy babies. He sure did like snapping them up, but always left a few behind to keep the fish population steady. But I really think he's just old. He looks old. He looks like he hurts all over when he moves (well, when he was still moving the other day anyway). He eats less and less and has been getting skinnier and skinnier for a while now.