Hey Alex this is little Ria. She was found frothing at the mouth at home.
Frothing at the mouth?
Yeah so we think it might have been a toad.
Yeah, the toads are really out at the moment.
On the Gold Coast
Alex is instantly alarmed that 12 week old Rottweiler Ria
may have been poisoned by a cane toad.
Hey, you are super cute.
Alright we'll check you out.
Good girl.
Cane toads
release a toxin that's highly dangerous to dogs.
It's absorbed through the mucous membrane, so through the gums
and it can cause all sorts of really serious effects.
Effects on the heart, it causes neurological signs.
It can kill them.
Just have a listen to her chest.
Make sure that she
hasn't got any signs that we see with toad's looking for
just any changes in heart rate or if the rhythm sounds abnormal
but that sounds ok.
Ria's owner Jemaine is terrified
his new pup could be in serious danger.
Ria is around three months old and she means everything to me.
She started foaming at the mouth when I came into the loungeroom
and which got me really, really worried.
So I got my girlfriend to drive me here and kind of in a rush.
Let's have a look at your gums.
They might tell us whether,
oh I know your a wriggler, oh I know.
They do look a little bit red.
At home Ria was frothing at the mouth.
She's not doing that now but she's definitely got a lot of saliva
around her mouth and she's also got some quite red gums.
Now these signs go hand in hand with a recent encounter
with a toad.
Oh sweetheart,
oh darling, it's okay, it's okay.
You're nice and bright
which is good, but I think we might wash her mouth out.
Because if she has had a toad, that toxin will be around her mouth
and it will be all sticky.
So the quicker we can remove that, the more she'll be out of danger.
We see a lot of
cane toad poisonings in this part of the country.
So it's a good reason for us to just not take any chances here.
I think you might be a little bit lucky, but we're going to wash
your mouth out anyway.
Ok, all right.
Oh I know, ok,
it's ok.
It doesn't taste nearly as bad as that horrible toad.
Puppies in trouble just have a way of meeting each other, I think.
This is by far the most effective way to remove anything irritant
from the mouth with a cloth.
People at home often make a mistake of getting a hose
and putting a hose into their mouth.
It's the worst thing you can do because you imagine
they're in a bit of distress
anyway, can take
a whole heap of water down and even into their lungs.
So can be really,
really dangerous.
Got to remove all that nasty stuff in there.
You alright?
Feel like your going to lose a finger.
We've given Ria a thorough check over and she seems fine.
So now we get a little bit of puppy love.
Oh is that the itchy spot?
Is that the itchy spot?
You are too cute.
But before Alex has a chance for any more playtime,
a second puppy is rushed in.
This is the second one Alex,
this is another one.
We possibly have gotten to a toad as well,
we're foaming at the mouth.
I'm just about to take Ria back out to her owner
when suddenly our receptionist, Amber comes through the door
with another puppy about the same age with the same signs.
What's going on here?
What's this little one's name?
Nova.
Nova, come here litle Nova.
Oh sweetheart.
Our second puppy is called Nova
and she's so cute.
She's a staffie cross
and when Ria sees her, she's,
what are you doing here?
And there's an instant connection,
there's a story here.
Hope they're going to be alright.
It turns out Nova's owner
Cooper is housemates with Ria's owner Jermaine.
Both boys suspect their young pups have got themselves into trouble.
We discovered that our dogs were like,
I guess you could say
foaming a little bit under their mouth and just really
lots of saliva just dripping everywhere all over the house.
I was kind of confused,
but big fella over here was pretty ah scared I think,
he was ah, can we go to the vet?
Can we go to the vet?
We need to go to the vet.
So you think both of them might have had a toad?
Might have had access to a toad.
Which happened right after they were outside in the rain.
Ok.
Come back showing the same symptoms.
Ok we'll check them both out.
But they're two different families?
Yeah.
Just housemates?
Just housemates.
Housemates ok.
What have you two been up to?
You two naughty puppies.
There two are
the best of mates.
Their owners actually share a house.
You guys know each other?
They probably led each other into trouble.
If they found a cane toad they would have thought
it was a great game.
Let's have a look at you Nova.
Yeah bit the same looks real slimy,
and see that?
Yep, looks that little bit redder than normal.
Okay sweetheart
good girl.
Nova showing very similar signs.
A lot of saliva around her mouth and those slightly red gums.
I think they've both been a bad influence on eachother.
Can I swap over?
Because we might do her mouthwash.
Alex now needs to wipe out Nova's mouth to remove any toxin.
She's going to get the same treatment with the dishcloth.
This is what happens when you play with toads.
You got to deal with the consequences.
Dogs are fascinated by cane toads and they'll go over
and investigate.
If they chew them, lick them, put them in their mouth in any way
it can be fatal.
So we're not taking any chances.
In case she's been in contact with that toxin,
we're going to make sure there's none left in her mouth.
Good girl, that's the way, good girl.
So they've either both got
into a toad or something else in the garden that's upset them.
There's lots of other things in the garden that can make dogs
froth at the mouth.
We see a lot of cane
toad poisonings in this part of the country.
Most nights we'll have at least one or two cases.
Owners Jermaine and Cooper confirm
regular sightings of the deadly
toads.
Around the house theres like toads near the bin.
I was actually really, really worried.
We were
both freaking out on the way here, that's for sure.
Jermaine is beginning to suspect his inquisitive
puppy may have played a lead role in today's drama.
She's really playful and she's really nosy about everything.
So probably licked a toad.
Aren't you just a cutey hey?
I could imagine you hunting out a toad.
You look like just the type.
Hey, don't you?
Cheeky.
Yeah.
You can see these two are just the best of mates
and I'm sure one of them is the ringleader,
and the other one was just playing along.
Who started it?
Hey, who went first?
Who's the troublemaker?
I don't think we're going to give you back.
I think we're going to keep you.
You are too gorgeous.
So I go out to meet the owners
they're two teenage boys,
but they are so worried about their puppies.
It's a great relief to be able to tell them
they're going to be fine.
Hello, here they are.
The terrible two.
Alright might swap you guy's,
you can have cuddles with you, here you are Nova.
The good news is guys that they both seem fine at this stage.
Certainly any time they've got frothing around the mouth,
we're always concerned about toads
which is why you brought them down.
You just never know
with something like that when it can be quite serious
but honestly, these two have just been so adorable.
They've had so many cuddles in hospital.
I can, I can imagine they get up
to a fair bit of mischief at home.
Do they?
Yes,
especially this one here.
Yeah, you're the ringleader are you?
I could beleive it, I could beleive it.
Pretty much Nova doesn't do anything unless she does it first.
So if she eats, then she wants to eat.
If she goes outside,
she goes outside.
So pretty much all you got to do is
keep Ria away from toads and we're safe.
I think there's this
moment when they both saw each
other out the back in the treatment room
when they were like, what are you doing here?
These two boys they don't look old enough to be parents
but they obviously take their
responsibility very seriously and they really love these puppies.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
You're so welcome.
I wish we had more cute puppies like you
come down.
See you guys, stay out of trouble.
See ya.
Your lucky, very lucky.
Jeez that was a close one.