Warning: starfish not good for dogs!

I heard on the radio on my way home from downtown earlier that there is a big problem in the Caribbean: people using starfish as dog toys.

The problem has 'surfaced' on Grenada, where dog owners are plucking starfish out of the water and throwing them like Frisbees, for their dogs to catch. (Read the full story here.)

Most important, according to this info I found on The Echinoblog, ingesting starfish might be toxic to animals. In short, a dog ate a dried ornamental starfish and suffered from vomiting and sustained seizures; the dog had to be euthanized.

Island officials are launching a campaign to stop this practice, by the way, which usually involves the starfish being left on the beach to die, which apparently is also stinky.

So keep this in mind if you think a starfish is a fun doggy toy, or even if you have dried starfish in your home and also own a dog.