They're big, ugly -- and can kill your pet

Pet owners, beware: Giant toxic toads may be in your neighborhood, and a vet says they're nothing to mess with.

By ROBERT FARLEY

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 19, 2000

CRYSTAL BEACH -- Just before turning in for bed about two weeks ago, the Makleys let their dog, Tasha, outside for a bit. The next morning the 6-year-old German shepherd-Lab mix was dead.

The sudden death of what had been a healthy dog was perplexing. But when a neighbor reported seeing a giant toad on her property the day before, Tim Makely began to suspect he had found the culprit.

Makley, a Seminole firefighter, made some rounds about the neighborhood and discovered there have been a number of recent sightings of the poisonous Bufo marinus toads.

With so many pets and small children around, Makley thought his neighbors in Crystal Beach Estates ought to know.

The giant Bufo marinus toads can release a toxic, milky secretion strong enough to sicken or kill a dog or cat that bites or licks it.

Dr. Ed Haeussner of the Animal and Bird Medical Center of Palm Harbor said it's unclear whether Tasha died from licking a toad. A necropsy was never performed.

But the toads are nothing to mess with, he said. A dog that ingests the toxin usually will die within an hour if not treated, he said.

Makley said he was surprised the toads were so prevalent in the area.

One neighbor found one squashed in his driveway. Another neighbor said she had shot one with a pellet gun.

Susan Greear of Gulfbreeze Circle came across one when her dog, a shepherd-chow mix, began barking hysterically in her yard.

"It was almost the size of a basketball," Greear said.

At first, she thought it was an owl. Then she figured maybe it was a turtle.

"I never saw a frog that big in my life," Greear said. "It just looked so disgusting. Thank God my dog didn't touch it."

Pam Watkins, a neighbor of the Makleys, said she came across a large Bufo toad the day before Tasha died.

"It was an enormous, ugly thing," Watkins said of the toad she discovered next to her front door one night.

It was as big as a football, she said. She and her son got a broom and shooed it into some bushes. The next day, workers putting tile in her home came across another Bufo toad at the side of her house. It hopped into a neighbor's bush.

Beating it with a shovel was not an option, she said. So they used a stick and maneuvered the toad into a box.

"Now what do we do with it?" she asked.

She called Pinellas County Animal Services.

Dr. Welch Agnew, assistant director of veterinary services for Pinellas County Animal Services, said the county agency does not respond to calls about Bufo toads.

"It's really not a good use of our time to try to track down toads," Agnew said. "We've got plenty enough to do with cats and dogs running loose.

"These guys are around. There's a whole bunch of them."

Agnew said the toads were brought to the region about four decades ago to combat nuisance insects.

Ingesting the toxins released by the toad requires immediate care, he said. For those whose dogs bite or lick one of the toads, Agnew recommends immediately flushing their mouths.

"Wash out as much of the toxins as you can and then get them to a vet," Agnew said.

But the animal services department refers callers who have just spotted a toad somewhere to private removal companies.

Watkins called Michael Dockery of Wildlife Capture Service and Snake Removal in Palm Harbor.

Dockery said he gets about 100 calls a year from people wanting him to remove a Bufo toad. The toads are prevalent in the northern part of the county, particularly in Ozona, Crystal Beach and Tarpon Springs, he said.

If you come across a Bufo toad in your yard, Dockery recommends you catch it with gloved hands, stick it in a sandwich bag and put it in the freezer.

"I know that sounds cold and cruel," Dockery said, "but it slows their metabolism down. It's the most humane way to kill them.

"And if they don't want to mess with them, call me."

Dockery charges $25 to $50, depending on how far he has to travel. His number is (727) 938-2892.

- Staff writer Robert Farley can be reached at (727) 445-4185 or farley@sptimes.com.

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