Mr. Toadwaller
by Peggy Zortman
Chase here – Former Shelter Dog reporting
On a hot early spring evening me and the Mister and the Missus were taking a break in the relative coolness of the shade inside our garage. We’d been working outside and were resting there with the door wide open.
Suddenly there was movement close-by and I jumped into action (I’m in charge of guarding the doors). Missus stopped me before I grabbed it. “That’s a friend,” she said.
Now since I came to live on the Summit I’ve met a variety of critters as well as some very nice humans. This critter was definitely something different; but if Missus says it is a friend, then it is a friend. I returned to my cool place on the cement floor.
Soon the ‘it’hopped inside next to where I was lounging. ‘It’ was a baseball size, lumpy ball of what looked like mud. Being a friendly critter I said, “Hi.”
The mud-ball rolled his eye toward me and answered, “How do you do. My name is Mr. Toadwaller and I’m an American Toad.”
“What a coincidence”, I stated, “My Mister says I’m and All American Dog. My name is Chase.”
We talked for a while and I asked Mr. Toadwaller where he was from and where he was going.
“I live under that upside-down flower pot in the shady, wet party of the garden, he told me; and I’m hunting for dinner.” “Did you just see a big beetle scurry by here? I lost track of it.”
“A bug, I exclaimed! You eat bugs?”
“Yes I do and wasps and grasshoppers and spiders too. The summit has a wonderful variety to choose from.” I can eat 10,000 or more before hibernation time when the weather gets cold.
“What’s hibernation?” I asked.
“I can’t stand the cold weather, he explained, so I use my big back feet to dig backward into a deep borrow where I sleep all winter.”
“Are those lumps all over your body contagious?” I asked as I kept my distance just in case.
Mr. Toadwaller puffed himself up to his full almost three inch size and answered rather huffily, “Of course not, and they are not lumps. I am covered with warts that make it hard for my enemies to find me. I also don’t taste good. Actually I can make a mild poison that will make your mouth feel awful and could send you across that Rainbow Bridgeso don’t even think about eating me.”
“I’m sorry Mr. Toadwaller, I apologized, I was just curious and my Missus says you’re a friend so I wouldn’t even think about eating you.”
I asked about Mr. Toadwaller’s family and he made my mouth drop.
“I don’t know where any of my family are,” he said. Lady toad left to lay eggs in the tall grass and weeds near the pond. They would have hatched into tadpoles and grown into little toads. I should have thousands of tiny offspring hopping around here somewhere.” He didn’t seem to think that was unusual.
Without warning Mr. Toadwaller’s tongue lashed out almost two inches and grabbed a spider from its web. I stepped back in awe. “That’s some tongue you have, Mr. Toadwaller,” I commented.
“It comes in handy to catch most of what I eat,” he told me. I don’t move fast and can hop only a little at a time so my long, sticky tongue is very necessary.
“Well I’m going to hop on for now, Mr. Chase, he said, It’s been nice talking to you.” and with that he hopped out of sight around the corner.
I told the Missus about my unusual conversation and the next day she visited the local library (a place where she can get all kinds of books with all kinds of information…free). Missus brought home books about toads and there was even a picture of Mr. Toadwaller.
Everything he told me was true; but I also learned that Mr. Toadwaller has a lot of enemies and was lucky to have reached his fifth birthday. It seems that his tadpoles are sometimes eaten by fish and birds and never turn into toads and he has to be on the lookout for critters like garter snakes, hawks and raccoons that don’t mind his bad taste. Mr. Toadwaller lives a dangerous life.
I also learned that his unusual looking eyes see in 3-D. Isn’t that cool? The book said it helps him find his lunch and see his enemies before they see him. Oh, and that sweet, musical sound I heard earlier this year was Mr. Toadwaller calling for his lady. He can really sing!
I’ve learned a lot since I moved to the Summit to take care of Mister and Missus but this has been one of the most interesting so far. I can’t wait for my next encounter.
That’s all I have to report for now.
This is Chase, signing out.
For more from Chase the Former Shelter Dog, check out BEDS
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