TAMPA, Fla. — It may seem normal for your dog to get into things, but animal advocates want you to make sure they steer clear of a certain toad that can be deadly to pets.
“Right now, I feel like crying,” said Rennette Arcuri. “They’re not human beings, but they make such an impact on your life, everyone’s lives. They give you love, unconditional love. It’s just hard. It’s very hard.”
Last Friday, Arcuri said they let their dog outside their Tampa home and went to check on her after she wasn’t responding.
“She was like going around in circles, and he found that kind of weird because she was a very healthy dog,” said Arcuri. “She was like unresponsive. She was starting to seize a little bit and have seizures, so he called me, and he said something’s wrong with her. I think maybe she got into something.”
Arcuri discovered her dog bit a bufo toad. Within a matter of minutes of trying to get her to the vet for help quickly, it was too late.
“Within the time that he found her to the time inside the car, about five minutes. She was gone,” said Arcuri.
Cane toads, also known as bufo toads, are poisonous to most animals that try to bite or eat them, according to FWC. People should watch for their enlarged glands behind the eyes, which angle down onto the shoulders.
“It’s scary because you literally have minutes,” said Malia Rivero, the practice manager at Harmony Vet Care of Brandon.
Rivero shared a few things that people should watch for with their pets.
“The reaction that we see is pretty immediate, and the number one is excessive drooling from the mouth, so extra saliva, very red gums, salivating, and then even more dire reactions that we see are some seizures,” said Rivero. “You’ll see them wobbling. You’ll see them just disoriented and things like pawing at the mouth. It doesn’t feel good. It’s a very immediate response to a dog licking or touching or putting their mouth on these bufo toads.”
If you see these symptoms, wash the toxins forward out of the mouth using a hose, wipe the gums and tongue with a towel, and get your pet to the vet immediately.
Rivero suggests trying to monitor your pets when they’re outside.
“Dogs like to investigate,” said Rivero. “They want to see what’s in that bush, and they want to see like oh what's that, and they put their noses to it, they’ll lick at it, and things like that, and that’s all it takes.”
FWC said cane toads are not protected in Florida, except by anti-cruelty law, and can be removed and humanely killed on private property year-round with landowner permission.
To help keep the toads off your property, you can cut your grass often and keep it short, as well as clear away brush piles.
Arcuri’s message to pet owners is to be very vigilant.
“Even during the day, we go out there. You never know what you can find,” said Arcuri. “Watch your animals because you don’t know what’s out there.”
