The other day, residential framer Cole Montsma was getting ready to start work when he noticed something unusual at the bottom of a hole at his construction site. At first, Montsma thought it was just a pile of dirt — then he saw the pile start moving.
Montsma quickly realized that there was a frog trapped in the dirt at the bottom of the hole. He and the rest of his team were shocked. They had no idea how the little amphibian had ended up in such a predicament, but they knew they wanted to help.
“We were all pretty surprised and wanted to get it out safely,” Montsma told The Dodo.
Montsma and his team members carefully brushed the dirt away with their hands to remove the frog as carefully as possible. Once the dirt was cleared away, Montsma lifted the little frog up to the surface with a shovel.
“It seemed really sluggish while it was still buried, almost like it had been stuck there for a while,” Montsma said.
Given that frogs typically live in wet, humid environments, Montsma knew being stuck in such dry dirt couldn’t have been comfortable for the amphibian. In fact, when a frog's skin get too dry, they can suffer from dehydration and organ damage.
“I poured a little water over it to rinse some of the dirt off and hopefully help it recover before letting it go,” Montsma said. “I wasn’t sure exactly what it needed, but it seemed like the right thing to do.”
Thankfully, the little frog transformed after getting rehydrated. Montsma placed the amphibian on a small piece of wood and carefully transported the plank to a nearby grassy area, where the frog could continue recovering.
“After we placed it back in the field, it seemed much more alert and started moving around on its own,” Monstma said.
Because Montsma took a few minutes out of his day to help, a tiny life was saved. Now the frog will get to return to their natural habitat and keep enjoying life.
“It felt good knowing we were able to help it and give it another chance,” Montsma said.
