I'm glad the pups are going to be OK.
Posted on 08/19/2017 11:10:11 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Two pit bulls are being hailed as heroes after saving children from a copperhead snake.
According to WFLA, Slayer and Paco began barking at the snake when it got close to children who were playing in the backyard.
That’s when the snake struck, and bit both dogs with its venom.
Slayer was struck in he face and snout, while Paco was bit in the leg.
Melissa Butt, the children’s grandmother, immediately rushed both dogs to an emergency vet.
“We need to get the anti-venom quickly, in order for them to get a good prognosis. It is very, very painful,” Dr. Shelby Loos said. “We give them medicine for pain and make them as comfortable as possible. But, we have to act fast.”
Paco had to spend one night in the hospital and was then able to go home. Slayer had a harder time recovering as his face and mouth were so swollen that he could “barely get his tongue out.”
However, after more medication, Slayer was able to go home on Wednesday.
“It was devastating to see how bad it had gotten,” Butt said.
Both dogs are recovering well.
I'm glad the pups are going to be OK.
When I was growing up on the farm, our Boxer Dog, Candy, was bitten two different times by copperheads and her pup, Pup, (not a very original name) was bitten once. Candy got it on her muzzle and on the top of her head. The hair never grows back over the fang scars. The Boxers would crawl under the outbuildings to fight them.
Great dogs.
I hope both are going to recover well.
doggieping
doggieping
Do you think they were attracted to the snake’s smell?
Goodness. I can’t imagine what those vet bills must have cost.
I was once bringing a horse in from the field and about to put her in her stall. I put my hand out for the latch and suddenly she threw her head up and ran backwards, nearly yanking my arm out of the socket. At first, I was thinking, “What the ... is wrong with you?” I led her forward to the door again, but she went all goggle eyed and was blowing at the door, planted her feet and refused to move. I turned back to the door to see what was spooking her, and that was when I noticed a baby copperhead, about 10 inches long, draped right across the latch that I had almost touched. I couldn’t figure out how in the hell she had seen it, because it blended in almost seamlessly, but I was certainly glad she had.
Maybe she smelled it B4 she actually saw it.
When I was a kid I was in the woods when I saw something move at the bottom of a pool of spring water that was crystal clear and difficult to see into because of the reflection. So I put my head close to the ground to get a better look, and just happened to notice a copperhead wrapped up and concealed in a small puddle of water. Only his head was sticking up. It was about six inches from my forehead. I reflexively jumped up and killed it. I probably would not do that now, since it didn’t bite me when it had the chance.
Wow, poor dog. Did it live?
Snake bites German shepherd puppy
Family says 7-month-old a hero
July 15, 2010 - By Amanda Clegg, aclegg@altoonamirror.com
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An Altoona dog owner says his puppy saved his and his mom’s lives after an encounter with a rattlesnake Tuesday afternoon.
The dog’s owner, Shawn Reeseman, 23, said he, his mom, Sandra Crider, and her boyfriend, were walking Smokey, a 7-month-old German shepherd, on a leash at the bottom of the Allegheny Portage Railroad Trace Trail when a timber rattlesnake jumped up and bit the pup’s snout.
Reeseman said the pup is a hero, because the snake could have bit him or his mom.
“He saved one of our lives,” Reeseman said. “If it wouldn’t have went after him, I really do think it would have got me or my mom.”
He said the 3- to 3.5-foot-long snake with a circumference two times larger than a half dollar was about 3 feet away from him at one point.
After killing and taking the snake with them, the family rushed the dog to two local veterinarians, but was unable to afford care for the pup. The trip was his first beyond the backyard.
The antivenom costs $700 a dose and the closest vet carrying it is Metzger Animal Hospital in State College. Crider said they were told from various sources it could cost anywhere from $1,200 to $5,000 to treat their dog.
The family took the advice of Dr. Mark Koshko, a Metzger veterinarian, over the phone and is giving the pup Benadryl.
“Just using the actual Benadryl can save the animal,” said Koshko, who did not physically examine or treat Smokey.
The family plans to take Smokey to a veterinarian in?Altoona today.
The snake could have struck with a dry or a wet bite, Koshko said. A wet bite is more dangerous because it means the snake injected venom into the animal.
Either way, the bite would cause swelling, he said.
Since Smokey has lived through the night, Koshko said his chances for survival are better. He couldn’t say for sure, though, because he did not examine the dog and didn’t know if it was a wet or dry bite.
“Surviving the first 24 hours is huge,” he said.
Koshko said his hospital has already administered three antivenom doses to dogs this year for wet bites. He said the hospital sees five to six bites on average annually.
He advises pet owners to seek medical attention immediately after a snake bite. He said the antivenom should be given as soon as possible, and it has the best chance of helping the animal within two hours of the bite.
“I have given the antivenom up to six hours after a bite and they have reacted well and improved quickly,” he said.
As for the snake, Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site national resource management specialist Kathy Penrod said the Allegheny Mountains are a habitat for the poisonous Timber Rattlesnake and copperhead.
A 2006 animal survey found eight snakes at the historic site, but none were poisonous, she said.
“I would turn around and give it room,” she said of what someone should do if they happen upon a snake, which are not aggressive unless they feel threatened.
If someone is bitten, they should seek immediate medical attention, Penrod said.
Reeseman said the ordeal has him shook up.
“He’s still doing pretty good,” he said of Smokey. “He’s up moving around.”
Crider said the pup is barking, too.
“Thank God he survived,” Crider said. “We all cried. We prayed.”
Dogs are our best friends!
It bugs me when people—vets even—call antivenin “antivenom.”
TC
They look like a pair of really sweet dogs. Please note that their ears have not been mutilated. That’s a sure sign of pit that are proper family dogs.
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Sorry, I’m going on vaca/flight in 20 min and rushed in after seeing that GS puppy pix from another story!
It’s pit-bull terrier types.
That’s ok :)
Have a wonderful vacation.
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