No, there’s not another furry member of our family.
Nope, he’s not an inanimate best friend like Teddy either.
Harris…
is a toad.
And he’s not just any toad. He’s Emmett’s toad.
Do you remember when we first moved into the house and I was super nervous because we heard the story on NPR about the dog who became addicted to licking toads?
I’m not sure if that’s what’s going on here or not, but here’s the story:
As the weather got nicer, John and I started spending our evenings reading on the patio while the dogs played or napped in the yard. We noticed Emmett fixating on the pond around dusk. He did it several nights in a row, and finally we spotted the cause of Emmett’s obsession: a Coastal Plain toad.
So we started to joke that this toad was Emmett’s pet named Harris. We’d let the boys out, Em would dash to the pond, and we’d joke, “Here, boy! Come here, Harris!”
Which evolved into jokes about Emmett training Harris. “Sit, Harris! Speak, Harris!”
(This pic isn’t good… had to use the flash plus a flashlight, but can you see all the glowing dots in the pond? Those are eyes of the dozen or so Harrises (?) living in that pond!)
All that was fine until…
While I was at BlogPaws, John reported that Emmett did his usual dash to the pond, but then he did something completely bizarre. He stuck his snout into the pond and picked up Harris!
He deposited him into the grass, then proceeded to sit and stare at him.
John thought it was hilarious, but he picked Harris up and put him back in the pond, you know, for Harris’ safety.
Then Emmett did it again the next night.
And the next.
And the next.
He runs out, sticks his snout under the water, picks up Harris in his mouth, and sets him in the grass. I saw him do it last night. It’s bizarre.
I’m throwing this open to you guys: Is he going for the secretions and getting drugged? Does he, like we joked, think of Harris as his pet? Is he just interested in this weird hoppy thing? What the heck is going on here??
I’m not sure about all toads/frogs but some give off something like “venom” that can cause hallucinations. A friend of mine in the Caribbean’s dog got hit so badly that he went temporarily blind — but the frogs/toads down there are different from the ones here in the States. My guess is that he’s enjoying the drug addiction-like feeling!!?? I don’t know. I’m glad he didn’t kill the toad! And isn’t it funny he keeps finding the same one?!
I think he probably just made an amphibious connection and has a pet of his own without any of the other stuff.
Every time Shadow picks up a toad (in Florida) he starts foaming at the mouth and we have to wash his mouth out with water so I know those toads have something on their skin. I don’t know if he hallucinates but I know it’s not a cane toad because those can kill a dog with their poison. I wonder if all toads have this defense mechanism to varying degrees and that’s why it acts differently. Could you send some Coastal Plain Toads so we don’t have a wet dog at night? Thanks, Becky
Emmett is so sweet, maybe Harris just needs a friend.
I have no idea what he’s doing, but I love this story, and it made me laugh!
I don’t know anything about this but I want to believe they are friends. I love walking by ponds and the frogs and toads generally jump away from the bank before you get close to them. I think Harris waits for Emmett and allows Em to pick him up. Emmett is a very special boy – but we already knew that.
Wow, that is crazy! What a funny thing to be happening. I have no clue but it sounds like he’s looking to have some fun with his new friend (not sure how fun it is for his new friend)…
I would have to say that they made a connection. If Em was fixated or though Harris was a threat, Em would have squooshed Harris right away. Em is being gentle with this strange creature, there is a connection.
I never met a frog before!
Your Pals,
Murphy & Stanley
Barkly picks up common brown toads, but he’s a lot smaller than Emmett, and we have to watch him because he HAS foamed after picking up more than 1 toad one night. Unless he starts foaming at the mouth, I wouldn’t worry about it. All toads will secrete a liquid from their “warts,” but most aren’t poisonous, or are only mildly poisonous to dogs. It’s more a foul smell and taste that’s supposed to deter animals eating them than anything. The toads people have to worry about here in the US are the cane toads that aren’t indigenous, but were brought here from Australia–those are the ones everyone talks about that are hallucinogenic. Dogs ARE “serial-licking” them in Australia to get high, so they might be doing that here as well. There’s another one if you live in the Colorado River area that’s poisonous. https://suite.io/joy-butler/1thk226 There are symptoms in that link to watch for if your dog is picking up and licking toads.
Want to know the real kicker about cane toads? Kids in FL and TX have used them to get high since they heard the word “hallucinogenic” on the news stations when the warnings went out to keep dogs away from the cane toads.
This sort of thing has happened before:
http://americannaturalistnetwork.com/jd-mitchell/call-of-the-wild-dog-and-toad-were-friends/
I just read this because of the link in the other post. I am cracking up at my desk.