Snake bitten dog survives.

[Baitball Blogger]

Antivenin, lots of love save Tavares dog after snake bite

TAVARES — Cali, a Labrador/Shar-Pei mix, looked like a manatee when she was admitted into the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital with a potentially deadly snake bite.

The 3-year-old dog puffed up dramatically due to a reaction from being bitten by what was likely an Eastern diamondback rattler, the largest venomous snake on the continent, and had to fight for her life. When she finally arrived home after two weeks in intensive care and multiple surgeries, a tongue-wagging Cali bounced out of the back of the family's SUV and immediately began sniffing around familiar territory.

"She's ready to go exploring again," said Connie Schmitt, 45, as she snapped pictures of Friday's homecoming. It was a special moment for Schmitt; her husband, Mike; and their four boys at home, who weren't sure their first dog would survive.

"A lot of doctors didn't think she was going to make it," said Michael Schmitt, 15. "She's been a really cool, awesome dog. She's part of the family, you know."

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-07-21/news/os-dog-survives-snake-bite-20120721_1_antivenin-snake-bites-dog

[mnhtnbb]

1. Aww...good for Cali. Our Tanya was snake bit--probably by a copperhead--years ago

One afternoon she wouldn't get up. I thought she might have had a stroke
as she was getting on in age--about 12 at the time. Of course it was
a Saturday, so she had to be carried to the car to go to the emergency vet.
They brought a gurney to wheel her in...asked me to wait in the waiting area.
Came out and told me they'd felt a swelling on a hind leg, shaved it,
and brought me back to see the fang marks! She walked out--after some
meds took effect--and had no ill effects.

She had been out in the yard earlier in the day--in the ivy--and after
the fact hubby remembered her letting out a kind of yelp. She'd probably
been bitten about 3 hours before I noticed that she couldn't/wouldn't
stand up.

[raccoon]

2. Good thing yall figured it out what had happened to her. nt

[HopeHoops]

3. If you don't consider pets to be part of the family, you don't deserve to own them.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. I'm thinking it was a good thing it was a shar-pei.

What would have happened if it bit a dog that didn't have the skin expansion possibilities?

[HopeHoops]

5. Oooh. Good point. That could get ugly really quickly.

[Cronkite]

6. My dog Lucy got hit by a copperhead a few years back.

She is a lab/cattledog mix and her head (where she was bit) swelled up to about twice the normal size, had a bad upset stomach overnight but was better the next day. (somewhat- still swelled head but it started to go down).

Luckily she only got hit by one fang.

[Baitball Blogger]

7. Change her name from Lucy to Lucky!

[bluesbassman]

8. My buddy's Doberman had that happen to him.

They lived on a ranch near Angel's Camp, and the dog got in the habit of chasing ground squirrels into their holes and then he'd stick his muzzle down into the hole as far as he could. One day the hole was filled with a Western Rattlesnake and it got him right on the nose. Head swelled up just like the OP dog. He was lucky too, and recovered after a couple days.

[bluedigger]

9. This really scares me.

I've been thinking about getting my dog snake trained here: http://www.snakeproofing.com/

It's not very expensive. Anybody ever tried it?

[Baitball Blogger]

10. I had a dog that saved my life when he froze and, then carefully backed out

at the sound of a rattlesnake. I never saw the thing. We just heard it, and we both made a quiet exit. It was in a patch of dead grass in a jungle area. Here's the kicker: we lived in the tropics where there are no rattlesnakes. The thing must have escaped from a military "survival school" which was only a mile away. They had all kinds of snakes to help the soldiers recognize the deadly ones. They had even brought in rattlesnakes from the States.

Creepy.

[Cronkite]

11. You can get some sort of vaccine that helps dogs survive bites from the vet n/t