I've come to the conclusion....

[scstewart20]

People in the "real world" don't sympathize much with the death of a pet frog. Apparently pets are only of the furry variety. Some people chastised me for having something that they deemed should be only in the wild (although Tyler's species is not native to here) while others were pretty rude and made disgusting jokes. Do any of you guys get flak from others and how do you respond?

[Tony]

I respond with things that aren't fit to print on a family-oriented forum.

[scstewart20]

Ha! We're on the same wave length then, Tony!

[UncleChester]

Nobody I consider worth talking to has ever given me any flak.

[scstewart20]

Yeah, I know what you mean, Brian but most of these people are coworkers and I HAVE to talk to them sometimes. Lol

[John]

That's pretty typical of most people. They think a dog or a cat is alright but nothing else. They also tend to lump frog enthusiasts in with the folks who keep big lizards and snakes. I don't have any tattoos, sorry.

(Waiting for the hail of "I've got frogs and I have tattoos" posts :P).

[GreenLeader49]

I feel your pain! Its funny, I've had my fair share of furry pets die, and as tough as that is, the death of my beloved Gray treefrog a few years back caused me the most pain. I guess thats when you know you truly are obsessed!!

[scstewart20]

That's pretty typical of most people. They think a dog or a cat is alright but nothing else. They also tend to lump frog enthusiasts in with the folks who keep big lizards and snakes. I don't have any tattoos, sorry.

(Waiting for the hail of "I've got frogs and I have tattoos" posts :P).

Lol well I have two tats so :P but yeah I get what you're saying.

[scstewart20]

I feel your pain! Its funny, I've had my fair share of furry pets die, and as tough as that is, the death of my beloved Gray treefrog a few years back caused me the most pain. I guess thats when you know you truly are obsessed!!

Yeah, I know about that obsession. We only had our tree frog two weeks and I bawled my eyes out!

[Whistly]

When I told my friends I had frogs most of them told me at one point in their lives they owned frogs and they wished they still had them. I have never came across someone who made fun of me for having frogs, maybe the people you work with can't think outside the box. They have probably now steriotyped you, but until they have actually owned a frog there arguement is invalid in my eyes.

[LilyPad]

I don't know anyone other than my mom that understands my love for my frogs (that I've had just over a month!) One of my coworkers is flat out rude about it, but I let it go, she is the same way about my cat, so for her it's just pets in general. That's why this forum has been so fantastic for me. It is a place where I can share my love for frogs (and in the event of it happening, my grief for a loss) and have people who understand.

[LilyPad]

And here is another one for you John, I have a tattoo, and I own frogs

[scstewart20]

When I told my friends I had frogs most of them told me at one point in their lives they owned frogs and they wished they still had them. I have never came across someone who made fun of me for having frogs, maybe the people you work with can't think outside the box. They have probably now steriotyped you, but until they have actually owned a frog there arguement is invalid in my eyes.

Yeah I see their arguments as invalid too. And really I don't care what they think just wish they wouldn't say insensitive things like talking about frog leg recipes after I lost my frog.

[scstewart20]

I don't know anyone other than my mom that understands my love for my frogs (that I've had just over a month!) One of my coworkers is flat out rude about it, but I let it go, she is the same way about my cat, so for her it's just pets in general. That's why this forum has been so fantastic for me. It is a place where I can share my love for frogs (and in the event of it happening, my grief for a loss) and have people who understand.

I love this forum too! You guys are AWESOME!

[Baelari]

My boyfriend always tells me that a frog is a stupid pet, especially since Lump never does anything but be fat sit in his hole. When he says it, I usually tell him he's a stupid boyfriend and that he needs to be nice to my frog. My fraternity brothers either think it's awesome a frog could eat a mouse, or if they think it's a stupid pet they don't really say anything about it. The rest of my family likes Lump, and usually want to see him eat when they visit.

Be nice to the lizards and snakes, John! They need love too! Not just from people with tattoos

[John]

I'm talking biker level tattoos, half/full body, etc. The types you see at reptile show!

[scstewart20]

And here is another one for you John, I have a tattoo, and I own frogs

Lol!

[scstewart20]

My boyfriend always tells me that a frog is a stupid pet, especially since Lump never does anything but be fat sit in his hole. When he says it, I usually tell him he's a stupid boyfriend and that he needs to be nice to my frog. My fraternity brothers either think it's awesome a frog could eat a mouse, or if they think it's a stupid pet they don't really say anything about it. The rest of my family likes Lump, and usually want to see him eat when they visit.

Be nice to the lizards and snakes, John! They need love too! Not just from people with tattoos

Lol stupid boyfriend! Haha Jk. And I like your frogs name!

[Lacibeth]

Well if you add them all up, it's about 1/3 body so I'm gonna claim tattooed, but no reptiles at home at the moment.

I work with a bunch of nature nuts, so conversations tend to go more like this:

Summer camp staffer "Oh, my hissing cockroach is dead." Fellow naturalist "Oh no, what happened?" SCS "One of this kids stepped on it. So we had a memorial service and buried it in the forest." And yes, there's a little twig cross marking the site.

My mom will actually come over just so she can feed and hold the frog.

[SkeletalFrog]

This is why I prefer academia so much - everyone here works on odd animals, and sympathizes with attachment to them.

The downside is that right after they say "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that", they'll follow with "By the way, would you mind letting me dissect it / collect tissue samples / etc.?"