Virginia Woman Recovering from Copperhead Bite at Restaurant

[Bayard]

14. Snakes can get in the darnedest places

Used to get rattlesnakes on the farm in central CA, in the mountains. I always tried to relocate them to the backside of the property (pick them up with a rake, stuff them in a bucket with a lid). Only had to kill two. One kept insisting he was going to hang out with the little blind barn cat. The other one--HUGE--killed one of my mini-dachshunds. The next day, he got stuck in the yard fence after eating something big, like a pack rat. He couldn't go forward, and he couldn't back up because of the big lump. The big dogs started going nuts. My horse vet happened to be there. He held him down with a board, and my ex chopped him with an ax. After that, I started getting yearly anti-venom shots for the dogs.

I would also get little non-poisonous types that would slither under the screened porch door (space of no more than half inch), where the cats would quickly dispatch them.

Have heard there are copperheads in this area, around our farm back in KY. Have seen very few snakes here at all though.