Cassi Creek:
Yesterday, at approximately 1200, Loki was bitten by some brand of venomous
snake. I was within ten feet of her when
it apparently happened. She did not yelp
or otherwise indicate pain. By the time
we were back inside, perhaps 5 minutes, she was refusing to put weight on her
left rear leg. Gloria and I went for the
obvious, a burr or like object in her paw.
We saw nothing but the leg remained off the floor and contracted.
We broadened
our exam, found nothing to indicate injury.
Her foot seemed a little swollen but she let us handle it and it didn’t
generate any additional pain signals. We
debated possible bites, stings, etc... However, couldn’t really nail a
diagnosis. Loki was lying down and
displayed a mild shivering behavior. She
wasn’t feeling good but accepted a dog biscuit when it was offered.
Finally, an
hour or so into the afternoon we noticed some blood on her foot that had not
been there before. The foot was noticeably
swollen by this time. We called our Veterinarian,
closed office, referral to an ER Vet clinic about an hour away. We called them and started the trip.
The initial
exam was inconclusive but suggestive for snakebite, only one puncture
mark. Shaving the area and further exam
made the diagnosis as probable as it could be without visual confirmation of
the event.
She
was treated with IV antibiotics and fluids to encourage venom excretion. The clinic is staffed 24/7 and kept her
overnight for further observation and fluids.
We picked her up this morning.
She’s not back at 100 % but she’ll recover and was eager to get into the
Pathfinder, jumping in without aid. (I
had to lift her in yesterday).
The
degree of envenomation she suffered must have been extremely low. We’re happy to have her home with so little
damage.
This
will raise our own concerns about snakes in proximity to the house and the
yard. We have a resident black snake
about 6 feet long that we encourage to remain.
Anything venomous is encouraged to depart quickly. Said policy will not change.
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