Posted by maria strouth on June 21, 2007

Q: My dog Harley decided he wanted to play with this new little creature, and he would take his paw and pull him out of the hole he was hiding in! So I turned the water hose on underneath my rose bushes to moisten the ground and put him in there, away from the animals. If he is still there when I get home, should I do anything else for him, or just leave him be? I took a few pictures of him with my phone if those will help!

Thanks!!

Habitat: suburban/yard

State: Arizona

Habitat: suburban/yard

A: Thanks for the photos - very helpful. Your animal is a toad called the Sonoran Desert Toad (Bufo alvarius). This is a very interesting animal that kind of looks more like a frog than a toad and you can learn more about it at www.bouncingbearbotanicals.com

Your "remedy" for the toad was right on the mark and I think couldn't have been better. The moisture you added was perfect and let's hope there are no further problems with the toad. Your dog may have gotten some of the toxic material in his mouth that the toad can secrete from its paratoid glands (these are located just behind the eyes) so be sure that he's not acting strange - it can affect his mucous membranes. Don't want to alarm you and my guess is that all is fine and he doesn't need attention but did want to alert you to this potential problem. If you dog did mouth the toad, he probably won't do so again. Hope this helps. Thanks for writing.

John Wiessinger ( June 21, 2007)