Toads are toxic to pets!

[undeterred]

We have lots of a particular type of toad in the dog park and they are jumping all over the place. Ollie has tried to catch them and picked one up a few times, but he immediately dropped it- I guess they don't taste very good. Somebody told me that they were toxic.

Today I saw one of the park dogs had her leg shaved from an IV stick. I asked about it and the owners said she had ingested something and gotten "high" but they didn't know what. A couple of days ago she was staggering around and was disoriented like she couldn't see properly and was hallucinating. The emergency vets gave her charcoal and an IV and sent the owners home to try to figure out what she ate. She is doing better now.

I asked them if she ever played with the toads and they said she really liked the toads but they didn't know they were dangerous... so I think that may be the cause and effect. Most dogs are put off by the taste.


http://www.petplace.com/dogs/poisonous-toads-and-your-pet/page1.aspx

[murielm99]

1. Yes, that is right.

Toads don't taste good. I do not know this from personal experience.

Our cats sometimes follow them around, but they don't try to kill them.

They get in our basement when it is wet. If there are only a couple down there, I leave them alone. They eat bugs. But if the whole downstairs is hopping, I put them outdoors, carefully.

My dog sniffs them so hard she seems to be trying to inhale them. But that is the extent of her interest.

I suppose they are toxic. It would make sense. What other defense do they have?