Prayers and good vibes asked for my sis

[okasha]

and her two dogs. Dogs have apparently been poisoned.

[fizzgig]

1. oh no!

my best to your sis and the puppies. how horrible.

[okasha]

2. Thank you.

No news yet. Hope she's not picking up because on way to emergency vet.

[shenmue]

3. {{{Hugs}}}

[Blue Owl]

4. ...Healing vibes...

Hope the pups get well...

[elleng]

5. Oh no.

Vibes:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[okasha]

6. Thanks to everyone.

Still don't have news.

[okasha]

7. Just heard.

One pup didn't make it. The other is improving. Don't know yet whether it.was a deliberate poisoning. Snakebite possible.

[Behind the Aegis]

8. I am so sorry.

Hopefully the other will bounce back.

[TorchTheWitch]

10. oh man, that's so sad

I really hope that it wasn't a deliberate poisoning. Bad enough to have lost one dog and have such sick other ones as well but to find out that someone did it on purpose has got to be so much worse.

[TorchTheWitch]

9. oh no!

Sending healing vibes.

[okasha]

11. Thank you to everyone who sent vibes and prayers.

The surving pup is doing well today. We'te thinking now it was bufotoxin that got the one we lost--a toad. It's been monsooning here is S. TX, and the rain brings them out.

Blessings to all of you and your furry anf feathrred families.

[Curmudgeoness]

14. What a shame. Wishing well for the survivor.

I suppose that knowing what the likely toxin is helps them to treat the pup. But I can't say how sorry I am that one did not make it.

to you and your sister and the pup.

[okasha]

16. Thank you.

It turns out that the suviving pup didn't come in contact with the toxin at all. She apparently had a cataleptic episode, literally "scared stiff" when her brother seized. She's bounced back physically, but still needs a lot of comfort and cuddles.

to you and your kitty, er, overlord.

[Granny M]

12. So sorry for the doggie who didn't make it,

and glad the surviving one is improving. Heard before about how lethal that bufotoxin is. But glad that it wasn't deliberate poisoning.

[okasha]

13. Thank you.

It's a relief to know it wasn't deliberate malice.

[QED]

15. I'm so sorry one pup didn't make it.

Here's hoping the other pulls through.

Toads are bad here, too but in the more rural areas. Crossing my fingers they don't show up here. My dogs would definitely go after them.

[okasha]

17. Thanks.

The survivor is physically okay, but needs lots of reassurance.

Sis lives in a semi-rural area, but we get toads and other wildlife here in town, too. Possums are regular visitors. Last week there was a full-grown raccoon. A pair of great horned owls regularly takes up residence in a tree across the street in winter. In another part of town, a friend's husband spotted a grey fox in a tree in his back yard. A herd of deer and a javelina family live on the University campus. No bears yet, though.

[okasha]

18. Update

Little girl still recovering nicely. Guy who cuts sis' grass said he saw three toads while mowing today.

[QED]

19. Glad to hear the little girl is recovering.

And good for the confirmation on the toads. I'd rather believe toads than someone poisoning a dog - not that it changes the outcome.

[TorchTheWitch]

20. glad that one of the doggies is doing well

Has the vet figured out what poisoned them? Are toads poisonous somehow? Or only certain kinds of toads? When I was a kid we had toads all over the place but none of us kids or the pets got sick because of them.

[okasha]

21. Toads secrete a neurotoxin

when attacked or threatened. Poisoning usually occurs when a dog or cat attempts to bite the toad or pick it up in his mouth. The toxin is absorbed through the mucous membranes. It can also be absorbed through human skin, so no one should pick up a toad bare-handed.

[TorchTheWitch]

22. eee gad!

My brothers used to pick them up all the time. The toads always did something that looked like they had peed on them, and that's what we always thought it was. Nothing ever happened to them though. The cats and the dog used to chase them though I don't know if they ever caught them.

Does it matter what kind of toad it is? Now I'm paranoid that we might have toads here though I haven't seen one since I was a kid. I KNOW Yoshi would try to catch one if he saw one.

They looked just like this eastern American toad:



Wikipedia says that they excrete a toxin called bufotoxin that can be dangerous to small dogs if the toad is eaten. Also says that the toxin on the skin can be irritating but anything more than that, so I guess a small dog would have to eat the whole toad to be really poisoned.

I'm so freaking out about toads right now! I always thought they were disgusting when I was a kid, too. My brothers loved to throw them at me just to hear me howl and scream and run away to complain to Mom.

[okasha]

23. Toxicity varies from species to species.

In S. TX, we have the two worst, the imported Australian cane toad and species alvarius, found in the SW US and northern Mexico. I'd suggest that anyone whose pets and/or kids spend time outdoors check which species are found locally and know what to do in the event of exposure.