08/30/2009: Marjorie from Sebring, Florida replies: "My Yorkshire Terrier got a Bufo Toad this morning - I had trouble getting it from him. I had to give him a piece of baked chicken which he grabbed and I grabbed that awful toad. I tried to flush his mouth out with water but only got a little when he had locked his jaws. I got an empty vitamin bottle dropper and tried rinsing his mouth with the dropper, sticking it in his mouth and wiping off the slime. I immediately shoved 1/2 Benadryl in his mouth. He did swallow it. I had called my vet. By this time he had gone into convulsions, had had bowel movements and was in a seizure. I held him, and prayed. The vet asked if I had any seizure medication - I had some of my own. Topamax Sprinkle caps. She heard him making sounds and said, give him a little of it - it can't hurt and it may save his life. So I pried open his jaws and sprinkled a tiny bit of the sprinkles in from the capsule. I sat and calmed him, massaging him and praying. Then when the convulsions had subsided I had to drive 45 minutes to get to an animal hospital. He was stiff and his eyes were fixed but the pupils were darting. They immediately put him on IV's, and did tests. His heart was okay. I don't know what all they did but my little dog survived. He is still at the hospital overnight to watch for seizure activity but when I visited him this afternoon he was alert, kissing me, stood up and walked some. It is a miracle and I honestly believe It was the prayer that saved him. He was dying. I wished I had known about the vinegar because honestly, trying to rinse water out of a dog's mouth who has been in contact with one of those toads is almost impossible."

09/24/2009: Lita209 from Sanford, Fl replies: "I had no idea about these frogs until couple of years ago, when one Saturday I had some family visiting me and I let the dogs out in the backyard for a little while. Later I brought them inside and one of my nieces got my attention because she was laughing at Mitzy (my shiba Inu mix). When I looked at her she was trying to stay on a sitting position but couldn't. After seeing her facial expression (Yes my dog has facial expressions, don't ask me how but she does!) I knew something wasn't right. So I told everybody I was sorry but I had to leave to the vet ASAP. I put her on my car and by this time she is foaming on her mouth and her face was like she was drunk and finally got her to the vet (And all I could think of is that she ate poison, even though I don't use poison around the house). She was put on IV and then I took her home, the vet never knew what caused this (They even suggested that she was epileptic!). About 2 or 3 weeks after the incident I was watering my plants and I noticed her going from pot to pot and all of the sudden she stop and backed away from this pot and when I looked there was a beige with brown spots, round frog. Eureka!! This is how I found out about buffo frogs. I thank God that my reaction was to run with her right away to the vet. I also thank God for having found this website; now I know what to do if it happens again. Thank you EC and everyone that take their time to write."

11/06/2009: Kayj from Lake Worth, Fl replies: "I have a two year old male terrier I heard a story about a woman losing two terriers to Bufo Frog poisoning, I am always cautious when walking my dog at night going as far as to carry a flash light to spot the frogs before he does. We were on the patio and suddenly I found him having seizures, I too rinsed his mouth and prayed and cried as my neighbor tried to do the same, she then took us to the emergency Vet, they had to give hom 10mg of Diazepam, propfol and kept him over night on an IV to flush with fluid.

I almost lost him. I look out for the frogs when walking. What I didn't expect was the frog to be on my patio. Today when moving a table several tiny frogs hopped about and 1 had been mangled and chewed up this in the very spot my dog went into seizures. I now know not to leave food out and plan to put aluminum panels along the 18" base where the screen is lose."

10/09/2010: Sam from West Palm Beach, Us/fl replies: "My yorkshire terrier went after a bufo today. Same exact thing happened to him, the foaming, he lost balance, random bowel movements, and then seizures. Luckily for me, my wife called me when he started foaming, she wanted to wait it out because we had never heard of the bufo before. Once he lost his balance she grabbed him and jumped into the car, luckily for us an animal hospital is right down the block.

By the time we made it there he was having seizures. They immediately put him on an IV and gave him seizure medicine, he was also given oxygen through an oral tube since he couldn't breathe on his own. They ran blood tests to make sure his organs were still fully functional. His heart rate had nearly doubled compared to normal. Even now that he's stable the Dr.still won't say he's certain he'll live. They will let him come home tomorrow morning if everything goes well tonight. Like everyone else I was hysterical and praying. I have 3 dogs and they are my children, I love them more than anything and would give up everything I have to make sure they are okay, that is the responsibility I agreed to take on when I got my dogs and I'd do it any day. My vet bill is outrageous but my dog is still alive so it's worth it. I appreciate all the useful information people have posted, and I'm against killing any living thing, but in this case I rather kill a frog than lose one of my dogs. I now know that I have to keep my eyes on them at all times, I'm a New Yorker and was very unaware of such things like the bufo frog until today. I thank god my little boy is still alive, and pray that he'll come home tomorrow fully recovered."

11/30/2010: Annie Z from Boca Raton, Florida replies: "My dog has caught maybe 4 of these toads in the past year. We have reacted quickly to wash his mouth every time. The last time was the worst. He started walking around in circles and was dazed. We just rinsed his mouth and prayed. The vet was so far away too. Luckily, we removed the toxin and what he did ingest was not fatal. Well, My yard was swarming with the Bofu Toads or at least it used to be. I have taken drastic measures to make sure they stay OUT! One of my neighbors has a pond and another has a fountain. They breed in these "pools" and they even breed and hang out in the condensation created by AC units. I have put tons of stones where my AC pipes are and this prevents water from collecting so to speak. I also fenced in my yard and not my AC unit, so if they are by my AC they will stay there. Of course, fencing was not enough. I had to dig up a trench around my fence and put up chicken wire/grating by Tenax with the smallest holes all along my fence and gates. This has worked, but was painful at first since I trapped in some toads unknowingly and had to catch them, some had to be killed since it would turn into long sagas of chasing between bushes. The humane way to euthanize them is to freeze them, but that's just not always possible since catching them can be endless. I also reduced my garage and porch lights to 25 watts each, to not attract so many bugs. I keep my trash bin outside our fenced in area since these toads will go after any food. As far as I know, this has worked. A humane way to keep them out. When we go on our nightly walk, I keep my dogs on a tight leash. These toads are certainly killer toads to our pets. Beware and protect your yards. Do not leave your pets unattented. Do not!"

08/15/2011: Louis from Naples, Florida replies: "Killing toads -- yes, it is nice to humane so I will use my .45 cal pistol -- instant death! The toads are not common here in Naples, yet but we have seen at least 2 in our yard in recent weeks - there is a small pond. Mt automatic dog watering pan is elevated about 6 inches. I will either raise it or move it inside the screened porch.

Thnx to all the contibutors -- I learned a lot that they did not teach us in medical school, but that is sll right since there are no Bufos in Zurich.

Someone please summarize all the treatment in a simple list - print it and- put you own Vet's name on it."

12/29/2011: Nancy from Jupiter, Florida replies: "Bufo toads-BLEACH. WORKS. Spraying vinegar or bleach or anything else on them does Not. To kill these deadly poisonous toads either shoot them or catch them and put them in a bucket with bleach. They die instantly. Running over them with a golf cart, or even my car, did not kill them! Online it says they lay 30,000 eggs every other day. Killing one toad a week is not helping. So far there is not a suitable pesticide to rid us of these venomous creatures that were imported from Australia to Hawaii and South Florida to help the sugar cane owners rid their cane fields of their own pests to protect their profits. Problem is the toads took over and have become a (VERY DEADLY) pest to All of us. The sugarcane owners should be held responsible for this scourge. They should be held responsible to financially support science to find a 'cure' that will rid us of this deadly toad. This toad has the potential to eventually be in all warm weather states killing our pets. Similiar to the Lyme tick. The 'new' tick that was thought to only infect animals until it was finally discovered it infected humans. Who knew about this poisonous debilitating tick 25 yrs ago. Now it is rampant in Every single state, not just Lyme, Connecticut where it started. To try to rid our areas of as many toads as I can, I went to Wal-Mart and was in line purchasing a BB air gun. In line next to me were 7 others. They all were purchasing various guns. We looked at each other and all said almost at the same time... "Toads. " All 7 of us were trying to protect our pets from horrific, painful and drawn out death because sugar cane owners brought in these deadly creatures. Snakes, birds of prey like hawks, normal animals that might eat frogs, do not touch these toads. They somehow know better. Our house pets do not. My golden retreiver has touched( not even eaten) a toad with his nose and been poisoned. All 4 times I was right there with him. Once he was even on a leash. In the yard the toads look like a leaf or piece of bark. All 4 times the toads were very small-2-3 inches. (I have killed them bigger than my entire hand including my fingers). I put the hose sideways in his mouth and stood straddling him so I could force his head down. You do Not want any water to get into his lungs and get pneumonia. I rinsed his mouth and rub his gums, insides of cheeks, tongue with a wet rag many times also. I hosed him 15 minutes minimum each time. Then rushed to vet. One time I thought I got it all, only to find him foaming again in the car. Luckily the nightime vet clinic is nearby.

One day, hopefully in the very near future, we will get some big-time help from one of the chemical companies that have the funds to research a cure for this problem. It is already an epidemic in Australia and will be one here in South Florida soon.

I think a concerted move should be made by concerned citizens to our legislators to lobby the chemical companies for help to protect our pets.

My friends call me the 'toad vigilante'. So be it. Toads or my dogs? Toads are winning now. Let's end this war."

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