A bunch of websites hopped on the story of dogs in Australia getting high by licking cane toads. When threatened, cane toads secrete something called bufotoxin, which can cause hallucinations (among other effects, including death). As a result, it’s not unusual for dogs in Queensland to come back from their potty breaks looking a little out of sorts.
It’s not surprising that dogs would chase after cane toads – that’s just dogs being dogs. The real story here is that they seem to do it in a deliberate attempt to get high.
So, how did dogs learn that licking a toad can produce a pleasantly trippy experience? Given that there’s a history of humans licking toads, maybe they learned it by watching us. Rumors of hippies tripping on toad (and even running “toad farms”) were common in the 60s. In Australia, toad licking was apparently enough of a problem that the government outlawed bufotoxin back in the 80s.
Important public service announcement: Both dogs and humans should just say “no” to toad. Cane toad venom in particular can kill, which is the main reason this invasive species has become such a problem in Australia.
Elsewhere…
Speaking of dogs on drugs, the Houston Chronicle ran a story about pot poisoning in pets (fun tongue twister, huh?). The article notes that the nationwide Pet Poison Hotline has recorded a 200 percent increase in pet poisoning in the past five years. While it doesn’t say exactly how much of that is due to marijuana, vets are anecdotally reporting an increase of cases. Makes sense considering the number of states that have legalized pot for medical purposes or general use (hello, Colorado). In particular, dogs seem to find the cannabis butter that a lot of people cook with to be irresistible.
When will Cracked ever get tired of churning out lists? Probably not until you get tired of reading them. You might want to check out one of their latest, 6 Insane Ways Dogs Can Inadvertently Screw Over Their Owners. Spoiler: Apparently there are a not-insignificant number of cases of dogs shooting people.
Thought Catalog tries to make a point about men’s websites by taking an article and replacing every occurrence of the word “woman” with the word “dog.” The title of the original article is “How to Train Your Woman,” which makes me wonder if men’s websites don’t in fact get their content by pulling the same trick in reverse. Here’s a sample from the transformed article:
Sounds like something from Cesar Milan’s site.
Finally, if you’re like me, you’re always wondering what to do with all the dog poop that you have to deal with on a daily basis. Do you bag it (environmental no-no), scoop and flush (gross), or buy one of the many dog poop products for sale (expensive and weird)? Well, you could follow Anne Hathaway’s example and simply dump it on the hood of a nearby paparazzo’s car. After all, those people deal in shit every day, right?