Was your pet injured in TV by a wild animal?
 

Several recent posts from terrified pet owners cause me to ask this. Who has had a pet injured by a wild animal in TV and how did it happen?

No injury, but the crap scared out of them when a coyote howled at them. They were cats on a screened porch on the golf course. Never knew they were that fast.

Tangling with an opossum.
 

Most of the dog injuries I have heard about or seen near or in the Villages have been because of dogs fighting dogs or dogs getting hit by golf carts or cars/trucks. My dog did have a face off with an opossum in our back yard but fortunately I picked him up before anything could happen. Possums are supposedly quite aggressive especially when a mother opossum is protecting her cubs as was what was happening in my dog's case. The cubs were no where close. The mother was distracting my dog so that the cubs could get away.

When living in south Florida one of our dogs was sprayed by a poison toad, usually resulting in death. We were luck enough to save him but he has lots of problems as a result. I dont think there are poison toads in this area but it would not hurt to keep your pets leashed and away for big and small creatures. If you google BUFO TOAD you can get info on this deadly frog.

that's like saying watch for a gila monster, they aren't in this area but it wont hurt to keep them leashed. come on............

I never heard of them either and grew up in NC FLorida. When in doubt, ask IFAS at UF. These have have made it to Tampa. Another invasive species introduced with good intentions...


Florida Wildlife Extension at UF/IFAS
Toxic Bufo Toad Kills Dog In Florida, Poses Danger To Other Animals (VIDEO)

Bufo toads have glands behind their eyes that secrete a waxy poisonous substance that is used to deter predators. They cannot spray this. Your dog probably bit the toad and got it in his mouth.

Another good link from the University of Florida. Florida Wildlife Extension at UF/IFAS

This happened at Bridgeport Lk Sumter Village
 

Two dogs saved from harm, one from a mother possum defending her brood (must be a big tree near the house?) one from a gator in a backyard pond. Anybody else in TV got a story?

If it will make you feel better:
There are no risks in TV.
There are no risks in life.
Predators exist only in the movies. (animal and human)
There really is a dome over TV.

There are some good sized trees fairly close but not on our property. We have about a half dozen rabbits running around the neighborhood. They like the bushes and the food that falls from bird feeders. Then there are the feral cats which can do quite a bit of damage to a dog if cornered. They usually just go up the trees however whenever chased by pooches in the area.

oh! the possums love it there! You can trap them and the cats with a $35 safe trap...what you do with them then I can't say, but you can control them if you choose to. bunnies may be after the first nibble of green growing from birdseed that's planted itself. yummy morsels.
No coons? sounds like you have a natural habitat. nice.

We have and have had coyotes, possums, raccoons, fox(es), feral cats, rabbits, squirrels....I personally have seen them all on the golf course behind our house. Not at the same time...

Well, I for one am glad to know this about the toads. My dog and I encounter MANY frogs (toads? I don't know what they are) on our walks after dark. He wants to sniff them, would maybe do more, but I always steer him away. Sometimes I don't realize they are there until he stops to sniff.

There are a lot of species who used to "not be in an area" that have been found to have spread. The snakes in the Everglades are an example. The zebra mussels in the MI lakes are another.

I don't know if these frogs we see are poisonous, but just in case, I will keep a more vigilant eye out.