So, let me preface this by saying this isn’t the first time its happened. My backyard is completely fenced in, with a 6 foot high vinyl fence to be exact. I let Missy and Ranger out to do their “business” and supervise their outings, when I’m not taking them for a “real” walk.
Missy and Ranger looking tough!
As I am carefully watching Missy, my “epileptic” senior dog (she’ll be 13 in November), I’m not watching what Ranger is doing. But I hear him flapping his ears a bunch of times and I can’t help but think that’s not good. I turn to check out what he’s doing and UGH, I see him chasing a toad. Well, not actually chasing, playing a game is probably more like it. Grabbing the toad in his mouth, dropping it watching it hop and running after it and grabbing it again, and so on. Mind you its a BIG FAT toad. A toad that probably would make someone who loves frogs legs very happy.
You think that he or the toad would have learned after the last episode. Last time ended with Ranger having a whole mouthful of foam and not feeling very well. It’s okay. I learned several years ago after an expensive trip to the 24-hour animal hospital where it was determined that Missy got a toad. She started foaming at the mouth and it wouldn’t stop. I had hosed her mouth out with water but she kept foaming. It had me in a panic!
Well, it turns out that toads secrete a toxin (think mild poison) from these bumps you see on their backs, commonly thought of as warts. Well, they’re not warts. They’re actually glands that secrete the toxins as their defense against predators, namely Missy and Ranger.
Missy learned her lesson. After a dose of Benadryl at the animal hospital she was fine. Ranger hasn’t learned his lesson yet. Nor has the toad. I kept letting him out in the woods beyond our property, but he/she keeps coming back!
Last time Ranger was frolicking with the toad the toad had the foresight to play dead and it was easy for me to coral it with the pooper scoppers! This time proved to be very difficult. Every time I scooped it up, I jumped out and Ranger right there eager to try and capture it again. After about 10 minutes of me scooping and coralling, walking and scooping, walking I felt like I was playing soccer! The frog was the ball and I was defending against Ranger! I finally got it out of the fenced in yard.
Hmm, maybe this wasn’t the same toad. But I can tell you its been eating very well!
Toad 3
Missy 0
Ranger 0
Hope you found my story amusing!
~Raissa
