Bufo Marinus

Who knew that this gnarly looking little creature, who has taken up habitat by my water lily pond, is potentially lethal to my dog and three cats? Well, I sure didn't. Until Sam and I did a little research to identify the little fellow, who we have named Buford.

At first, we were all excited that he appeared at night, sitting on the edge of the pond, bellowing. But the second time we saw him, with only his eyes peering over the edge of the lily pad, I decided to try and identify him. He is the largest toad I have ever seen. In fact, they have found them up to 15" long. Gulp. That makes him bordering on dinosaur status to me.

The disturbing part of the report was that they are poisonous to dogs and cats and cause many pet deaths in the Keys. They live in the sub-tropical climates. They have parotoid glands that secrete a poison. Have you ever heard the expression "don't lick a toad or you will hallucinate"? Well, there you go.

So, the best advice that we got was not to try and catch it and move it, but to, sorry to say this, destroy it. I will leave that mission to Dirty Harry and hope that it happens swiftly and when I am not around.

The Keys are a scary environment! Pythons coming down from the Everglades, alligators and even the rarer crocodiles in resident's canals, leaping barracudas biting onto people, and the famous spotted Eagle ray who leap out of the water in joyous reproductive enthusiasm and whacked a tourist just as her boat was speeding by at 30mph. UH OH. Hey, I have even had my dog attacked by a grumpy mother bird on one of our leisurely strolls about the neighborhood. I don't know who freaked out more.