Mood:
sadTopic: Articles
RIP Gimpy the Bullfrog Ambassador
Current mood: 
gloomy
Category: Friends
Rescued September 1, 2005 Died June 29, 2008
I found Gimpy when he still had a short bit of tail not yet reabsorbed. There were five others in the same small whiskey barrel fountain I found him him in. With his bad leg, he could ot get out of the water and relied on whatever food flew in. Needless to say he looked very thin and unhealthy. The fountain was in my sister's flower garden and had been treated for mosquitos. The neighbor's all around had their lawn professionally treated. Whether it was the chemicals or the little red worms in the water or a genetic thing, ot other reason, Gimpy had a bad leg that left him unable to take care of himself. We took him home in on old Speedway cup and so began his days as a Zetterberg. The day he was rescued was the day my neice was born, at the hospital my sister told me there were small frogs in her fountain and to check them out after we left. When we went to visit five days later, I checked and the other five frogs were dead. Gimpy was first given the name Jeremiah, because "Jeremiah was a Bullfrog", but my wife called him Gimpy and it stuck. I had read about deformities all over the world and across the US, but finding this in my sister's yard in my home county, really bothered me. That was when I decided to start educating the public about amphibians and their declines (some caused by malformations). Gimpy and I have seen thousands of people, mostly children in the three years he was with me. The last two years he reached maturity and would call when I picked him up. Most wild bullfrogs have a distress call that sounds much like a cat being tortured (or how I imagine it would sound), but he actually did the mating call when I held him (which at first made me wonder if I should be holding him that way). He lived a good life in captivity, he would have not made it very long in the wild, when he got excited, he hopped in circles. A predator would have got him easily. He would call often in the house and fill the room with his wonderful call. Sometimes at three in the morning, it was not so wonderful, but I never complained. Friday he was calling quite a bit, Saturday I don't remeber him calling, but he seemed active and happy. Sunday he was dead. I don't know what happened, he showed no signs of illness, but with amphibians, sometimes it over before its ever detected. I hope it was quick and he didn't suffer. He will be missed greatly. I did a program Monday, and when I got to the point I usually bring him out (he wa the star), I felt very, very sad. The show must go on, and its importance is even greater now with Gimpy gone. I think he inspired many people, mostly children to look at amphibians with awe and hopefully instilled a passion for wildlife conservation in many of them. I had thought about it many times, when Gimpy dies if I should have him preserved and looked at by scientists to try to figure out why his leg was like that, but when it happened, I decided Gimpy has done enough for the world and should be allowed to rest in peace. He was buried in an Amazon.com box (I figured the Amazon was probably a lot like Frog Heaven) in my back yard next to some stella-d'oro daylilles, a maple tree and some honey suckle. The spot was marked with a frog plaque (several frogs on lily pads) and a white cross with his name and recure and death dates. Finding my dear friend Gimpy has changed my life in a wonderful way, he will always be close to my heart and an inspiration to educate as many as I can about amphibians. While I have known many frogs, I can say that Gimpy is the only one I can say I have ever considered a friend. He had quite a personality, though being human, I couldn't appricate all of it, I did love watching him and interacting with him. He has been in many newspapers and his picture on several web sites, I hoped that someday, he might be considered the most photographed Bullfrog in Indiana, but his time was cut short and we will have to just appreciate the time and photos we had. Goodbye, Gimpy.
