{"id":284541,"date":"2026-05-26T10:25:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T10:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/284541\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T10:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T10:25:10","slug":"toxic-threat-family-gets-hoa-approval-for-pet-protection-against-cane-toads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/284541\/","title":{"rendered":"TOXIC THREAT: Family gets HOA approval for pet protection against cane toads"},"content":{"rendered":"

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. \u2014 Since January, WPTV has been listening to a Port St. Lucie family raising concerns about invasive cane toads in a Riverland community<\/a> and the potential danger they pose to pets.<\/p>\n

The Shulmans, who live in Valencia Walk at Riverland, first reached out to WPTV reporter Brooke Chau after their HOA denied a request they believed could help protect their dogs from the toxic amphibians.<\/p>\n

WATCH: <\/p>\n

TOXIC THREAT: Family gets HOA approval for protection against cane toads<\/p>\n

According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC)<\/a>, cane toads are an invasive species that secrete a toxin that can be fatal to dogs within minutes if ingested. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re worried about letting our dogs out in the backyard with those cane toads,\u201d said homeowner Rhoda Shulman in January.<\/p>\n

The family had requested permission to install mesh along the bottom of their fence after seeing numerous cane toads in the backyard\u2014 a modification they said would help keep the toads out without changing the look of the property.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

Brooke Chau, WPTV<\/p>\n

The HOA initially denied the request, which is why the family launched a neighborhood petition that gathered dozens of signatures.<\/p>\n

After months of meetings and continued discussion, the family says the Valencia Walk at Riverland HOA has now approved the protective mesh installation.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

Brooke Chau, WPTV<\/p>\n

The Shulmans say the change brings relief after a lengthy process and ongoing concern for their pets, Petra and Sophie.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a difficult thing to do; it took many months and took a lot of perseverance,\u201d the family said. “We’re very grateful to the HOA and hopeful that we can get it up within the next month.”<\/p>\n

The approved change is expected to give the family added peace of mind and create a safer environment for their pets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that our dogs are going to be as safe as possible, and that’s what matters to us,\u201d the Shulmans said. <\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

Brooke Chau, WPTV<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. \u2014 Since January, WPTV has been listening to a Port St. Lucie family raising…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284542,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[120855,171,173,172,120856],"class_list":["post-284541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-cane-toad-mesh","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news","tag-riverland-cane-toad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}