WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL (Madison) 06 September 04 Pet frog doesn't croak (Susan Lampert Smith)

This is a story that may strike horror into the hearts of parents.

Anyone who has had both pets and kids knows the heartwarming joy - and heartache - of the combination.

I considered myself a wily veteran, after giving a home to a pack of dogs, a family of ferrets (Oscar and Felix, who collectively smell like Oscar Madison's old jockstrap) and Sabrina the teenage rat.

I had tiny funerals and heard the stories of my friends' kids' pets, such as Bob the hamster, who was promoted to Bob Sr. after miraculously giving birth to Bob Jr. Then there were the rats another friend thought deserved a chance to make it in the wild after her kids became bored with them, so she released them while humming "Born Free." It would have been nicer had it not been November.

I thought I had heard it all, but I hadn't met Tammy the Tadpole - the pet who lives forever.

Tammy is a celebrity in the Edgewood neighborhood, and no wonder. She arrived in the middle of the Reagan administration. When Katy Albert was 3, her uncle bought her one of those "grow your own frog" kits at the Puzzlebox on State Street. Tammy, an African clawed frog, was a nice pet for a little girl with allergies to furry animals.

Tammy grew, and by the time she lost her tail, the Alberts realized that she was a he, but Katy liked the name, so Tammy stayed Tammy despite anatomy.

Katy's mom, Jane Albert, said Katy would write about Tammy for school assignments and make art projects about Tammy. Then, as happens to little girls, Katy grew up, turned into a teenager, graduated, and moved out. She's 23.

And Tammy? Tammy the 20-year-old former tadpole, still swims happily in his little aquarium. And, as happens, Tammy has become Katy's mom's pet.

"When I'm gone, he doesn't want to eat," Jane said, as Tammy gazed at her with olive eyes. In the evenings, Jane puts the aquarium near the open screen window, and Tammy sings along with the crickets.

Tammy isn't the perfect pet, Jane said, "you can't take him on a walk or cuddle with him." But he is cheap: His food costs about $4 a year. And he's content swimming in good old Madison tap water.

While Tammy doesn't get out much, he does have a following. Jane Albert retired in June after 32 years of teaching fourth and fifth grade at Van Hise, Marquette and Randall elementary schools. A whole generation of Madison kids have heard about Tammy.

As Tammy reaches the upper end of the known life span of African clawed frogs, the neighbors have grown a bit worried about caring for him when Bill and Jane Albert go on vacation. No one wants to be on duty when Tammy goes into the final float. This summer, Jane put out one of Tammy's old aquariums at a garage sale.

"Tammy?" people asked, with sadness.

No, Jane told them, Tammy is fine. In fact, she admits she's considered the possibility that Tammy may live forever.

"I guess I could take her to the nursing home with me," she said. "Maybe."
Pet frog doesn't croak

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