Readers have fond memories of pet (African clawed) frogs

They were sold for $1 in the 1970s
They grow as big as bullfrogs.

By Diane Hettrick

After publishing the warning article yesterday from the Dept of Fish and Wildlife about African clawed frogs found in ponds in Bothell, I heard from several readers.

They confessed to owning pet African clawed frogs many decades ago and had fond memories of them. They swear they never turned their pets loose.

One shared this newspaper clipping from the late 1970s when sale and ownership was banned.

"Dave Kellogg, an owner of Blue Heron Hatchery, one of three pet wholesalers in Seattle, said his firm used to sell 300 to 1,000 of the frogs a month.

"He said the frogs would survive outside but added, 'They are fairly tough. They might be able to weather out in the coast area.'"