Colorado River Toads- Danger to Dogs in Arizona

by Stefani
(Arizona)

About two years ago, my Miniature Pinscher, Angel came in contact with a Colorado River Toad.

I was in the shower when my mom came pounding on the door, crying and screaming that Angel's dead.

I rushed out of the shower, threw on a towel, and ran downstairs where my dad held a very limp Angel in his arms.

I rushed out there to see him holding a phone to his head and Angel, who I thought was dead, was still alive and was panting excessively, drooling from the mouth, and her hind legs were paralyzed.

I was scared, as an animal lover, I get very attached to my pets and think of them as my babies and I did not want her to die.

My dad got the hose and with the water at a steady flow, he put it into her mouth sideways and flushed out her mouth for about 10 or 20 minutes.

Afterwards, she was dazed and seemed a little drunk with how she was wobbling, but she survived. My dad hung up the phone and informed us that Angel had bitten into a Colorado River Toad and that was the first I ever heard about them.

Unfortunately, on July 16 2009, Angel got one of those suckers again and this time, we were too late.

I blame myself so much because I was panicking and because of that, I blanked out on how to save her.

I had to call my friend because she has a vast knowledge of animals and when mom and I tried to flush out her mouth, I guess she swallowed some of that water and she was not recovering.

She died at about 10:00 in my arms that night. That was the most horrible moment of my life and I'm still haunted by it.

I wish so much to turn the clock so I can have a second chance at saving her, but I just have to cope with my loss and be happy that I ever had her in my life at all.

She truly was one of a kind, I still love you baby girl!

As of now, I have another dog, Chloe, and she exhibits the same behavior as Angel used to do.

I'm scared to death of her getting those things so I've taken to supervising both of my dogs when I let them outside at night when June comes around, which is in fact now and I know they're out there.

Message is, do not panic when you see your dog excessively panting, appearing dazed, drooling, and paralyzed in the back legs.

Just take your dog to get his/her mouth rinsed out thoroughly with a gardening hose and do that from the side, do not allow the dog to swallow the water.

Do this for about 10 or 20 minutes and they should be fine. My friend also suggested to cool them down because too much heat can make the toxins work even faster.

And for those who don't know what a Colorado River Toad looks like, they are olive green, can be the size of about 7 inches, sometimes larger, has those white glands behind their eyes, their skin is smooth with the exception of their warts on their backside.

Losing Angel and especially watching her die in front of me has got to be the worst thing that ever happened to me and I hope my story will prevent others from experiencing this terrible loss.