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ANOTHER DANGER IN FLORIDA....

Permanently deleted user
I just got a call from my boss's wife...I knew instantly something was very very wrong, and she told me..

Roxy and Jody were dead...Two of the most beautiful most loving yorkies I ever had the pleasure of being around....Both were pregnant with Jody being due in approx 3 weeks...

A giant toad was the killer....It had gotten into the yard after the yard was checked for snakes etc...The front yard was fenced over a year ago with a wooden picket type, but a couple of the smaller yorkies used to get out between the slats so my boss put chicken wire all around the fence....Keeps the dogs in and most predators out....Keeps the bigger toads out but not this one...

It got in and yorkies being curious, bit at it...that was their mistake...these toads are highly poisonous to smaller dogs and cats, and will make a large dog very sick, sometimes killing them..
They are not native to florida but were brought in to control pests in the sugar cane fields, they are native to South America..
They can grow up to 12 inches, and weigh up to 5 pounds with 3 pounds being average...


The toad is dead as well,....but it took two of our best...

If you live in Florida please please watch out....protect your pet, look in your yard, fence with smaller fencing or keep the animals in....the toads like light because it attracts flies, they love the water dripping from an air conditioner, they like dog food left outside...they will eat lizards, frogs, mice and even small birds...

Jody and Roxy, you will be missed so much....love you..
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Comments

15 comments

Date Votes
  • Dakota308
    [:(] my condolences its hard to loose loved pets
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  • Marc1301
    http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_factsheet.php?toc_id=203

    A friend of mine with a large black lab, had issues with them, and his dog became very sick, but recovered.
    I have never seen any around my place, but my pooch doesn't go outside without one of us.
    Sorry for your friends loss.
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  • He Dog
    Marine toads aka cane toads have been transported around the world where ever sugar cane is grown to eat the sugar cane beetle. They do eat the beetles but like a lot of other things better. They are indeed very toxic, and their indroductions in places outside their normal range has proven unfortunate in every case. They were also introduced to Australia and when I was there in 2004 they were in Kakadu National park, and monitors and other animals were dropping like flies trying to eat them. Herpetologists implored me to run over every one I saw, even knowing it would not help. It was expected that by the end of the rainy season they would make the 185 kilometer distance to Darwin, and it turned out they did.

    Sorry about the Yorkies BR, this is a well known threat in Florida these days.
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  • scubabobf
    The toad is Bufo marinius and it is a nasty animal. They have a strongly poisonous skin and no predators in Florida. They will eat dog and cat food and the dogs and cats can not do anything about it. I had bee hives in S Florida and they would park at the entrance and gobble the bees. I shot them with a 22 birdshot and tried to line up their heads so I got 2 with one shot. The Bufoes will even eat small birds! I am sure they also prey on the native frogs and toads. Wear rubber gloves when you handle them. So sorry for your untimely lost.
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  • zipperzap
    Falling oaks, giant poisonous toads and bears ... I may opt out of FL this year!
    [:o)]
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  • jimbowby
    [8D]--Yo Zip, remember, this is California and we have enough trouble with aliens--

    --Check your luggage !!!!

    --[^][^]--JIMBO
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  • zipperzap
    [:D] .... that's true ... and I got beach sand in my shoes this afternoon!

    ... summers are ROUGH here!
    [:o)]
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  • jimbowby
    [8D]--Hey Zip (probably won't catch this), do you know if the old "Ocean Beach Cafe" is still open ??

    --they had the best lunches and an 80 beer card, for beers around the world, I filled two of em-WHEW--

    ---JIMBO
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  • dolfan
    BR,
    I have a 2 yr/old Yorkie. She is a "toy", weighs 5 lbs.

    No bull, her name is also Roxy.
    My kids choose the name and its on the AKC papers.

    I had a German Short-haired Pointer named Chip. He lived to be 14 years old. When he was 6 or so, he had a tussle with a Bufo at a lake where I rode ATVs. He started foaming at the mouth. I carried him to the lake and rinse his mouth as best as I could. Took him to the vet ASAP. He survived, vet bill was almost $500.

    I don't know the statistics but Bufos kill a lot of dogs here in FL.
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  • dpmule
    I have a buddy, 40 K's out of Brisbane Australia, had three smooth hair fox terriers, two got at the toads one night. One died and the other was sick sick dog and I don't know that she was ever normal afterwards. Those Cane toads are bad news.
    Also In OZ they have had cases of small kids getting poisoned from the toads, don't if any fatalities, but I suppose if it will kill dogs it could kill a kid too.

    He Dog, did you see the documentary on the cane toad invasion into Darwin area and how they were trying to defend the area, pretty interesting.
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  • Permanently deleted user
    Yes there are reports of small children dying from picking up the toad and then putting their fingers in their mouth....There are also reports of adults dying after eating the toads...

    There was a documentory on tv about ppl in australia dying after boiling the toads in water to make tea to be used as a "high"....That was their last "high"...

    dolfan..
    Roxy and Jody were both registered toys as well....Roxy was silky,...blond and a real sweetheart...she would sit on the back of the couch waiting for you to pet her...
    Jody would have you laughing, she loved to lay in her drinking water dish, she was so ...so Jody...she didnt beg for attention, she was one that said..."if you want to pick me up, pet me, I am here...if you dont, thats okay too, I will be here when you want"....she always slept at the door...she was the watch dog


    The experts say if you see it happen, to rinse the mouth immediately with water, making sure they dont swallow, but they kill so fast...the house is not even 5 minutes from the vet,...Jody was gone before she got there...

    My boss's wife is constantly checking the yard before she lets them out to play,..the yard was clear, it got in after she checked it...Classic told me the toads burrow under the ground in hot weather, coming out later in the day...
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  • dolfan
    BR,
    I got to the vet in about a 1/2 hour. Chip weighed 80 lbs and I guess due to his size and my rinsing his mouth was crucial to his survival. My vet has a poster of a Bufo frog in his waiting room listing the dangers and first aid treatment.

    I never thought I'd be the proud owner of a Yorkie. I prefer large dogs, working breeds...like most men I guess. My wife, without my knowledge, purchased Roxy. When she brought her home on a Sat. morning, I was still asleep. My wife placed Roxy on the bed and she jumped on my chest and started to lick my face. I woke up and saw the cutest little face. She's been my darling ever since.
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  • fishkiller41
    Sorry about that BR,,, I ment to post a WARNING on here a long time ago.... We, that live down here for any amount of time, alredy know full-well about the "BUFO"...Sorry to hear of their loss...

    Jeff
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  • Mr. Gunz
    So sad
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  • watrulookinat
    Sorry to hear that BR [:(] I lost one of my rotts to a snake bite. He was bitten for the second time, but this time he took the snake with him. P.S. also in florida.
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