That's Where You'll Find Me : Fred der Frosch

My fellow friends and family, I write to you with a heavy heart today.

Fred der Frosch has passed away.

Fred der Frosch, First Week of May, 2012 - June 2, 2012

The cause of his death is unknown. He was alive around noon on Saturday, June 2, 2012, but when he was checked on again around 5:30pm-5:45pm the same day he was discovered dead, belly-up, on the floor of his little yogurt jar home.

Paramedics (myself) immediately attempted to restore life by performing frog CPR with the back of a pencil to no avail. He was officially pronounced dead at this time.

Fred der Frosch was place on the lid of the yogurt jar as his open-casket which was regularly visited by his owner and caretaker (me).

Visiting site.

The funeral service was held on Monday, June 4, 2012, which was also to be the day of his release as he had matured from tadpole to frog. He was buried at pond.

He was carried in his temporary yogurt jar home by a one-person hearse down to the pond of his birth and capture, which inevitably also became his final resting place.

Beginning of hearse.

It was a fitting day for a frog funeral. The walk to the funeral site began about 11:45am, just after it had rained fairly heavily that morning. The sky was still dark with clouds and the paths and forest were still quiet. The funeral site was reached at approximately 12:15pm.

"The sky was still dark with clouds and the paths...

... and forest were still quiet."

The pond had no other human visitors, only the caretaker of Fred was present. She walked to the spot where Fred was captured, and slowly poured him into the water. Fred's other friends and family were there, still in the developmental process of becoming a frog. Holly has this to say about her frog friend:

Fred der Frosch, although only had a short time in my life, meant a lot to me and was well loved by not only myself, but the children as well. His presence was a comforting source of life in the windowsill opposite my plants. It is very sad to watch something grow and mature only to pass away a day and a half before his release, but it was obviously his time to go. I had tried to take good care of him, but it seemed to be unsuccessful. The guilt that I had on the day of his death was very strong and will stay with me forever. I loved Fred der Frosch as my own pet even though I knew that at some point he would leave me, I just did not expect him to leave in this manner. Fred, I will always miss you. Thank you for being such a good friend.

The service concluded at approximately 12:30pm. His frog home was recycled at the nearest recycling containers to hopefully be used for a better purpose (Fred would have wanted that).

"The pond had no other human visitors..."

"Fred's other friends and family were there..."

Fred der Frosch's final resting place.

Below, please remember Fred der Frosch's life and development by looking through his past pictures.

Holly would also like to remember her past animal friends: Sugar - her beloved kitty of almost 17 years, Kao Jai - her Betta fish friend that had been a gift from her fiance, Reiyn Ru - Kao Jai's attempted spouse, Hasani - the African dwarf frog who had been adopted her junior year of college (survived by his brother Husani), the other unnamed tropical fish who had been adopted her freshman year of college who did not survive, and of course Spotty and Shiny - the goldfish that started Holly's animal tributes, funerals, and eulogies at the age of eight or nine.

I hope you remember all of your past loved animal friends today. Please be sure to click on the pictures to enlarge.