More Darwin news...
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2008/06/10/4342_ntnews.htmlToad survives 40 minutes in dog's stomach
10 June 2008
A CANE toad has survived after being eaten by a dog and spending 40 minutes in the animal's stomach.
The super toad was eventually vomited up by the dog and hopped away shaken but seemingly unharmed. The dog also lived to bark another day -- proving she's as tough as her owner, Darwin rugby league star Jackson Crews.
Bella was playing in her backyard in Bakewell, Palmerston, when she swallowed the toad.
"I went to feed the dogs some left over pies and pasties,'' Mr Crews said.
"I threw them on the grass and as I did I noticed a cane toad. Bella saw it and thought it was one of the pies.
"She swallowed it whole.''
He immediately called the Ark Animal Hospital and was told to bring in the dog straight away.
"They gave her a needle to help her vomit,'' he said.
"She vomited a lot of pies and pasties but nothing else came up. Then they gave her another needle and she spewed up the cane toad.''
Mr Crews, 27, said he couldn't believe both dog and toad survived the episode.
The toad is being kept at the animal hospital where staff have named it Spew.
Scientists believe hundreds of Territory dogs and cats have fallen victim to the cane toad's deadly toxins. The toads release a poison when under stress and can kill a large dog within minutes.
Mr Crews said it was probably Bella's greedy nature that had saved her life.
"She swallowed it whole -- that's probably why she survived,'' Mr Crews said.
There have also been reports of dogs getting "high'' after licking the backs of cane toads. But Mr Crews said Bella had shown no signs of unusual behaviour since her encounter with the toxic toad.
