Meet the toddler who is best friends with a frog - and eat breakfast, watch TV and go on walks together.<br /><br />Little Juliana Allon, two, begged her mum, Brandie, 39, for a pet white tree frog from the pet store in Panama City, Florida after it had been given up by its previous owner.<br /> <br />Her mum eventually caved and purchased the frog for $40 in August 2022. <br /> <br />Juliana named her pet George, and the pair are inseparable, doing everything together including eating breakfast, watching TV and going on walks.<br /> <br />Julianna is too young for nursery, but she has taken George with her to her grandmother's house to show him off. <br /><br />He perches happily on Juliana's shoulder as she watches TV and eats breakfast. She also sits him in her stroller and takes him on walks around the house. <br /> <br />Mum-of-three Brandie, a realtor, from Panama City, Florida, US, said: “Juliana was in love as soon as she saw him. <br /> <br />"He was so fat and squishy-looking, and she wanted to hug him straightaway. <br /> <br />"The store let her pick him up and hold him. Then she said: ‘Mommy, please, please, please!’ and I couldn’t say no.<br /> <br />“He just crawls to the top of her shoulder, and they walk around together - he manages to hang on somehow.”<br /> <br />Since the family adopted their newest member, Juliana and George have formed an unbreakable bond.<br /> <br />George lives in Juliana's bedroom - in a cage kitted out with a heat lamp with plenty of water and food.<br /> <br />Brandie, her husband, Nathan, and their three children are accustomed to having animals around the house. <br /> <br />They already own a dog and a cat as well as an array of more exotic pets including a snake, a bearded dragon and a leopard gecko.<br /> <br />George eats the same diet of worms as their bearded dragon and gecko, so Brandie says it’s no extra effort to look after him.<br /> <br />Given George is adopted, the family are unsure where he is from or how old he is, but his species of frog are found in Australia and New Zealand.<br /> <br />Brandie said: “She wakes up and the first thing she says is ‘baby frog’ - she wants to hold him right away.<br /> <br />"Before we leave the house, she always says ‘bye bye baby frog, I’ll be back'.<br /> <br />“She puts him in the baby stroller and walks him around the house. <br /> <br />"And when she’s eating breakfast, he sits calmly next to her on the table.<br /> <br />“When white tree frogs feel threatened or stressed, they turn dark brown and make a loud ‘ribip’ noise, but he’s so easy going around Juliana. <br /> <br />"When she picks him up, he turns green and turquoise, which means he’s happy.”<br /> <br />Brandie said that looking after George has also helped to keep Juliana on her best behaviour. <br /> <br />“If she’s playing in the park and doesn’t want to go home, I remind her we have to look after ‘baby frog’, and she’ll leave right away," Brandie said. <br /> <br />But looking after a frog has led to one or two sticky situations. <br /> <br />“He peed on Juliana once before which she didn’t like very much,” Brandie said.<br /> <br />“Frogs can also carry salmonella, so I had to teach Juliana not to kiss him. <br /> <br />"Hugging is fine, but she always runs to the bathroom to wash her hands afterwards because she knows the rules.<br /> <br />“I encourage my kids by telling them that if they love animals and take care of them responsibly, they can have one, but I never thought we would get a frog.<br /> <br />“Every animal has a different personality, but if you find an old soul like George, I’d definitely recommend getting a pet frog - he’s just a happy little fellow.”
