Scary, but true SunBird story

One morning last month, the office received a distress call from a SunBird resident that an unknown animal was in the garage since the following night, banging on the door and crashing items in the garage causing havoc all night long. Too terrified to look into the garage, the homeowner called the SunBird office to investigate. Landscape Supervisor Joe Anderson was called to duty armed with a large stick. As he slowly opened the garage door leading into the house he noticed broken glass all over the garage floor. A little nervous of what he might find he quickly opened the door and found a 7.5” toad in the garage confused, lost and jumping around trying to find a way out. The toad broke a lamp and was banging into the walls and doors of the garage all night trying to escape. It was identified as a Sonoran Desert Toad. Normally they bury themselves into the ground and will come out at night and more likely after rain. These toads have large glands of toxins around the ear area that can paralyze or kill a dog or animal if attacked. These toads are harmless to humans as long as they are handled with care and gloves. Several have now been spotted throughout SunBird due to the recent rains and monsoon storms.