Dogs and frogs

Can frogs (so called in Bermuda, but actually a toad) kill my dog (or cat)? Yes....they can! 

While growing up, we inherited an all white female terrier cross dog named Tiny. She was trained to come when called, "sit" and maybe "lie down". She had a litter of pups and we kept one named Viera (another story for another day), who became Tiny's companion. As outside dogs they shared a dog box in a sheltered kennel. Tiny was a sweet and friendly much loved family pet, who was not aggressive, but would bark on occasion to let you know when someone was in the yard. She would bark at night too, but would settle down once you called her name. Late one night or early morning, I heard her barking, but paid no attention to it. She soon settled down. The next morning I found my dog not moving, stiff......dead. Nearby was a frog that had gotten into the kennel (because of the dog water bowl?) with blood around it's head. Tiny obviously defended herself against a hopping intruder into her territory and paid the ultimate price for it. Sadly, that was my first introduction to the hazards of Bermuda's amphibian inhabitant Bufo marinus.

Imported from Guyana, South America as a valuable biological control for garden cockroaches and centipedes during the late 1800s by Captain Nathaniel Vesey, the frog soon populated all of Bermuda because it had no natural predator. During the day it revives itself in cool damp/watery areas and hunts at night. Bee hives are subject to attack by this creature and, they even have grown men running in the opposite direction. 

The natural behaviour in some dogs is to chase and capture anything that moves. The thrill of the hunt is instinctual for survival, ..... eat or die. It is important to train your dog to respond to your commands. Here is the worse case scenario - you may be out walking your dog at night, then lose sight of it. The next time you see it, it is chomping its mouth. WHAT TO DO?

If your dog is foaming at the mouth and you suspect it may have mouthed or bitten a frog, do not panic.....there IS something YOU CAN DO IMMEDIATELY! Aggressively, get household vinegar into your dog's mouth, then wipe the foam around the mouth with a vinegar soaked cloth. The vinegar (acid) is an antidote to the alkali toxin found in parotid glands behind a frog's eyes. If you don't have any vinegar, use water to rinse out your pet's mouth, contact your veterinarian and take your dog to them right away for treatment because advanced symptoms like gastrointestinal upset and cardiac issues lead to suffering and death. Don't let the fear of veterinary costs stop you from saving your dog's life.

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