I Kill every Damn one I see.

that sucks, I hate that for you. I aint sure how much the anti-venom is. But its universal for all the venomous snakes in this area. The crazy thing is. I handle several hunting dogs a year. Even during the summer I'm liable to handle 25-30 dogs consisting of multiple packs. We get very few snake bites, if any, for whatever reason. I've done had 2 in the last few years in the back yard.

IMO Benadryl has minimal effects on a dog (for snake bites). It doesn't hurt to give it to them and it will keep them calmer (less stressed) and it'll prevent anaphylactic shock. But it doen's do much really. That being said, you can take a snakebit dog to a vet and him hand you a bill and a dead dog.

Good advice Goodman. I made the decision not to carry her to the vet; actually the vet we use don’t keep the anti-venom on hand. I’ve second guessed my decision all night but that accomplishes nothing. I know in 3 hours at the most she was dead from the time she was bit. I figure it was a diamondback; I have about a 4 month old cutover behind my house that is grown up quickly with all this rain, so prime territory for them. I really thought she was gonna pull through after she got calm, reckon that was the Benadryl doing that. We are going to contact the other vet here locally to see if they keep the anti-venom on hand and get an estimated cost just in case we have another incident.

You reckon being Dog Days of summer had a factor in the amount of venom the snake injected her with?

dog days sure didn't help. Its hard to say why/when its gonna be a fatal bite. They can fall over dead in minutes or be totally fine. When you said the dog was bleeding,it kinda made me suspect. They usually don't bleed much. No need second guessing yourself. Like you said, the vet didn't have anti-venom. So it wouldn't of done you much good. May not of even mattered if they did. If its gonna die, I'd rather it be surrounded by people that love it, then by itself at the vet.

Google shows $600 - $1000 a vial for dogs when administered by a vet.

Dammit that's tough. So sorry for your loss

Hate to see this .

Thanks!!!!!

Sure hate it man, I let my Cur's out daily and worry about them, Last time mine was bit was in the dog pen by a little copperhead. I thought once you said she was calm and taking water that she was going to be ok. Sorry again.

Sorry to hear this. I hate snakes

Sorry for your loss.

I hate venomous snakes and kill every one I see.

So sorry to read of the loss of your dog.

I honestly don't think the vet/antivenom would have helped with what you wrote about with the labored breathing, the paralysis of back end and particularly with the bleeding, being in the throat area.

Prayers for comfort for you and your wife.


God Bless,
David B.

Our family dog got bit by a copperhead recently. We took him to get anti venom at the emergency vet. My wife negotiated them down on cost thankfully. It was “We cannot pay that, but we don’t want to lose our dog” tears streaming down her face that the vet helped us out.

His neck was swollen and he was in a lot of pain. Some many folks told me I over reacted because it was only a copperhead bite, but I didn’t care because we didn’t want to lose our dog.

The vet said that most dogs do survive a copperhead bite, but he said that the only way to neutralize the venom was anti-venom to stop it from damaging tissues and organs internally.

One bag of anti venom did the trick and the next morning his swelling disappeared. He was very lethargic, but he it took him over a week before he would go to that part of the backyard again.

Sorry about your dog. They are a huge part of the family and have such a profound impact on our kids especially during Covid. Thank goodness you have some other ones. I did kill the copperhead. I hate them SOBs.

Sorry to hear this.
We have a friend whose dog was bit last week in the face. They took her to the vet and there was another dog in the vet that had been bit in the neck.
The vet told her the best place for one to be bit was in the face for some reason and the neck was the worst. Their dog ended up making it but the other one (neck) didn't make it.
Sorry again

This is a good story as supporting evidence to kill every snake I see. Some will say that there are good snakes but this is a free country and I choose to kill every snake I see.

Sorry to hear of your loss OP. I'll continue to do my part to minimize the chances of this happening to anyone else.

Dan

Man, hate to hear this. I like my dogs better than most people and I'm always in the back of my mind worried about them getting snake bit. This was the last thread I read as I was laying in bed last night and was on my mind as a I fell asleep...was the first thing I picked up my phone and looked at, not the update I was hoping to see.

I appreciate you thinking of my lil mama; I also appreciate everyone’s thoughts and comments. Trust a special place here I took for granite during my morning reading.

Man, hate to hear about your dog. As others have said...I hate a snake!