We had a few of our newest critters take "the longest walk" this week. Claire had found a toad in their window well. She held and played with him too much, and he died a very exhausted and dried out kind of death some 24 hours later. She also acquired a Leopard Frog which we took very good care of for a couple days until Josiah and Claire were passing it between them and he (fortunately for him) made his escape very quickly (likely motivated by fear of meeting toad's same gruesome fate). Fortunately for us (and equally as unfortunately for him), the kids caught a bullfrog tadpole in the pond at the park on Sunday. I told Claire that since she was at a death toll of 3 pets in 7 days (including "Mater" - a tomato horn worm that we kept for just a few short days till he was handled to death), she was on her last try with a pet for awhile. Well, the tadpole made it home in one piece in his paper cup, but was also handled to the point of extinction (within a record time of 3 hours). So... we have decided not to adopt any more critters unless they like to be handled and petted, because the fuzz rubs right off of caterpillars after being "petted" to excess, as we have found. Mommy's conscience cannot take the grizzly deaths of any more of God's creatures (great or small) - at least not whilst pregnant. Claire has gotten quite accustomed to death and loss, however, and takes it like a champ - looking immediately for the next victim... I mean pet. She isn't even bothering to name them anymore. I'm thinking we might just take a page from the pork producers and just start spray painting big numbers on their backs as they come into our fated possession. 
