Long Frog?�

2002-08-06

I have inherited a newt. One of my bosses kids had a newt. My boss didn't want a newt. So he asked if we knew anyone who would take it. I, of course, volunteered, thinking it was a fire bellied newt, which they sell in tropical fish stores. I even asked and was told yes.

My boss came in the next day and told me, son did not want to give up newt. I understood. A child that would give up a pet that easily probably shouldn't have a pet. Oh well.

This morning boss comes in with bright red and blue plastic carrier. Newt. NOT a fire bellied newt. A native newt. A California Newt, to be exact. One they found while hiking through a local park.

Tell me that this is not a cute newt!

NOW what? I want to release it back to the wild. But I have only the vaguest idea of where it came from. I want to put it someplace where it will find other newts and make little baby newts. I strongly of the opinion that there are not enough newts in California. Excepting of course the two legged variety. I count myself in that number.

I couldn't believe how many people here don't actually know what a newt is. "What do you mean, 'What's a newt?" The best that I could come up with was a long frog withouth the hopping.

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