Actually this Freddie didn’t have a name. He – or she – was nameless, but loved nevertheless. Like Freddie in Curtis Mayfield’s song, death is the end. While Curtis Mayfield’s Freddie was anesthetized with heroin, this creature was anesthetized with clove oil, and then euthanized by deep freeze. Cause of illness is still being researched.

Although this backyard pond fish was 12 inches in length and weighed about a pound, it wasn’t a koi. It was most likely a comet goldfish and common carp hybrid, due to the long slender body and absence of a koi’s whiskers.

Now you’re hearing the “Freddie’s Dead” song in your head – right?