Pacific Northwest Gardening: Apropos of Nothing v.15, 1 by Rarejem

Rarejem wrote:
I have to share a giggle from the weekend. When I work in the yard, Phoenix "guards" me... keeps me in her sight and plays, hunts, or rests in the immediate area I am working in. Hunting is her favorite pasttime... squirrels, mice, frogs, bugs... anything that puts off a smell that she can stalk and she is in heaven. I have a huge toad ( softball size ) that lives under the bridge by my greenhouse, and that is the area that I was working in on Sunday. I have learned in the past that toads don't have much scent, as the dogs can only find them if they move. Phoenix spotted the toad as he scurried out of the sunbeam he was enjoying and hid under the bridge. She saw where he went, and let me tell you... she will sit there for hours waiting for a critter to resurface. After a while, the toad poked his head out of a narrow spot under the bridge, and sure enough... she spotted him. Puppy went on point, toad eyed puppy suspiciously but was not really concerned because he had a quick escape tucking back under the bridge if necessary. After a couple of minute staredown... Phoenix licked the toad! Apparently toads don't taste real good, because I have never seen anything so comical as a dog trying to get a tast off of it's tongue! I will add that she's been stung by bees and bitten by ants, and she still continues to try to eat them. Right after that lick, she left the toad completely alone.....