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[at-l] rattle snake bites for dogs

At 10:36 AM -0400 7/27/97, SaraSW@aol.com wrote:
>Hi All,
>
>Thought maybe people who hike with dogs could give some advice about dogs
>getting snake bit. A friend's two Jack Russell Terriers got bit (one
>about 15 lbs; the other about 20), probably by copperheads. She didn't
>see the snakes. The vet checked a number of books and is doing what he
>can, but said he had no experience. The books do say with dogs that size,
>anti-venom can cause problems.
>
>If anybody has had experience with treating bitten dogs or just in easing
>their pain, I'd sure appreciate hearing from you.
>
>Thanks.

Rattlesnake bite to a dog

Contributed by Tiffany Hoss, 5/28/96

My dog Samantha and I were hiking in Red Rock Canyon, Topanga, CA. We came
around a corner
and Samantha stepped on the baby rattler. Right away she was shocklike. Her
head went down, she
became dazed, her tail went between her legs. I had to pull her away from
the baby because he was
very aggressive. In fact I've seen alot of snakes on the trails but never
one that has been so mean.
Usually when they see you they take off, but this baby wanted to attack again.

I figured out that she was bit in the foot because she started limping
right away. When I got her away
from the snake I looked at her foot. The wound was bleeding and the foot
beginning to swell. The bite
marks were pretty small. I then realized that she was in serious danger.
Sami is a shepard/coyote
mix and weighs 46 pounds. Believe it or not, I picked her up and ran 3
miles to my car. It's amazing
what your body can do when the adrenaline is flowing.

I got to the hospital about an hour after the bite. By then she was in deep
shock and very lethargic.
She seemed to be in a lot of pain. The doctor took her into the trauma room
and gave her benadryl
and fluids. After she was stabilized, the doctor came and spoke to me. They
had to ask permission to
give the antivenin. Apparently the dog could have a violent reaction to the
antivenin and also it is
expensive. Of course the cost was the least of my wories. They take an hour
to give the antivenin by
an IV. After she was stable I was allowed to see her. She was on an IV and
her foot was black and
blue and very swollen, but otherwise she was in good spirits.

She remained in the hospital for 2 days and was given 2 kinds of
antibiotics and I constantly had to
clean her wound. The bite has left a 1/8 inch scar on her foot, but
otherwise she is back to normal. It
took her about 2 weeks for her to get back to normal.



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