My Dalmation Got Bitten By A Snake

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Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 2922

The better half has just got back from the vets after our dal got bitten by what we now know (well the vet said is more than likely) to be a copperhead. We live in a complex where the lawn care seems to be carried out on a when they can be arsed basis-it used to be without fail Monday mornings approx 9am and now seems to be as and when. Recently we saw a baby snake-no more than 5 inches long slithering down a corridor, around the next corner was a snake-reddish in colour (approx 1ft in length) dead on the sidewalk to the communal area (with ants crawling on it), an area that people walk their dogs, people barbecue and kids play. This was reported to the site office, who told maintenance to remove it-so there it stayed for three maybe four days. We were also told that it would be passed on to pest control for them to determine what type of snake it was.

Yesterday we came back from walking the dogs-and noticed the dal's front right (in between toes) paw was red and looked cut-it looked like it may have been a piece of glass-we did think of going to the vet but all were closed. So we cleaned and bandaged it as best we can.Today the gf comes home from work and upon looking at the wound sees it is now a hole.

Straight off to the vet where the diagnosis was given-antibiotics, frequent bathing $300 lighter and a return visit on Saturday to look forward to. Unless the hole reaches the bone then it is amputation or Euthanasia (she is 13-and has survived a brown recluse bite already).

The girlfriend has already emailed the appt complex saying

Quote:

i am currently at the vet trying to save my dalmation, she has a snake bite on her right front foot. I guess the snakes i emailed you about last week aren't as harmless as you thought. I have had this dog going on thirteen years and words cannot express how upset i am about this. Insert GF Name

What i need to know is any snake advoidance tips, snake recognition, snake habits, what to do if bitten (human and dachshund). What snakes are typical to my area-H.Town TX and last but no means least what legal avenues are open to me re the appt people.

edit to add-kind thoughts for the hound would be most appreciated.

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:45 am

I can't really advise you on snakes as we only have the one poisonous one here in the UK (not where I live fortunately) and occasionally dogs get bitten. The advice generally is try to clean the would, keep the dog as still as possible and get to a vet ASAP.

Hope that your dalmatian makes it through OK.

Trophy Videos · Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:37 pm

@Donato - Just google "venomous snakes southern united states"
There are some good links there. Copperheads have various color patterns in different areas of the country. They have hourglass patterns, and the colors vary a bit. There are browns, yellows, greens, reddish colors. They rarely cause deaths in humans, but can cause tissue damage in the area of the bite. I'm not sure of tenant laws in Texas, but you would think that if a tenant brought up an unsafe condition of the property to the landlord, and they ignored it, they would have liability for any injuries. Google "landlord tenant law texas" and check the links, or speak with a lawyer if you have questions.

I hope your dog recovers from the bite.
Until the landlord rids the apartments of the snakes, wear high leather boots, and stay away from bushes and other hiding places for them.

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:40 pm

Donato, hope your dogs gets over this. Sad

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:56 pm

Copperheads are nasty, we have them in Oklahoma too. They like to climb so be aware of that also. The best defense is to eliminate their hiding spots, by well mowing, but like others have said stay away from anywhere they can hide. I am going to go out on a limb here and say, without googling tenant laws, that since you told your landlord to do something and they did not, then they are liable. This is a safety concern as copperheads can kill humans. I would talk to a lawyer about it.

Edit: I found this also http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/boone/safety/critters/snakes.shtml

It is about Kentucky but the information is useful.

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 3551

If you are in the big H., you are going to see poisonous snakes, period. It does help to keep the landscape clean, but they are always around. There are coral snakes, water moccasins, and rattlesnakes as well as copperheads.

If you plan to stay, it might be a good idea to purchase a small garden shovel with a flat head. It is far easier to kill a snake with a straight-edged shovel than with a pointed shovel.

When you step outside, always scan the area first, because they have a nasty way of surprising you at your doorstep. Sad

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:49 pm

Send me a picture of the snake if you have it. Possibly was a copperhead.

Best way to tell is look at the head, if it is triangular, it is a pit viper and poisonous.

Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 2922

Thanks for all your replies.

At the moment she is at home (having cold wet towels applied to wound five times a day) and we are waiting to see if the skin degradation reaches the bone. If it does then it's amputation or euthanasia.

As for the snake-we never saw it-and the dog never yelped, jumped, flinched or anything. Blood work brought back that the toxins had not reached her organs 24hrs after the initial bite.

The dogs now only go on the shortest area of grass available (and only when they need to go) otherwise we stay on the concrete and we go out in ankle (me) and calf (gf) boots with a grabber stick and if dark a torch.

Girlfriend got a bounce on her email to the appt complex last night-i told her to call them and get the email address and resend and wait to see what they say. Oh and when we returned from walks this morning-gf's car had a flat with a big ass piece of metal in the tire!!!

It never rains... Rolling Eyes

edit to add scam a lot-that's what we thought-a baby snake or at least one that had eaten recently.

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 3:06 pm

Well, from what you're telling me it could have been a pygmy rattler or a small copperhead. A regular rattlesnake would have probably been fatal.

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:23 pm

We lived in Houston for ages (NW) and had several dogs bitten by copper head snakes as did our neighbors. They are practically invisible when in brown grass or leaves. The place where the dog was bitten usually swelled up quite a bit, then went back down. Our neighbors never took their dogs to a vet and the swelling always went down after a few weeks. We always took ours to the vet and got antibiotics, steroids, and antihistamines. And were were also out $$$ but the dogs lived and got well sooner than the neighbors dogs did. We had a dalmatian that got bit and lived and we had a toy fox terrier that got bitten several times and lived so size didn't seem to matter. I think a rattle snake's venom is more poisonous. We never had one bitten on the paw.
Something that is even worse than a snake bite for a dog is a scorpion bite. There aren't many if any of those in Houston, but we do have them here in Central Texas. Our toy fox terrier got stung, went into anaphylactic shock, and nearly died. We were able to rush her to the vet.
I wish you the best.

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:28 pm

I'm in Houston, too. Check the "renters' rights" section on click2houston dot com.

Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 2922

@bearkat-just had a look and looks like the appt complex could have some liability issues-depending on whether dogs count as highly as humans.

GF has had email back from appt people saying

Quote:

I am so sorry to here about your dog! Please keep me posted on the outcome!

Her mum works for a huge law firm in another state-so i told her to email that click2linky and the appt email to her and get some pro bona legal advice.

@A Skinner-thanks too-didn't have time to tell gf this as well, but she'll read the thread when she comes home.

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 5:04 pm

Sorry to hear about your ordeal & I hope the dog recovers.

The long term solution I wish could be insitututed is to erradicate snakes from the planet. I hate snakes. Evil or Very Mad

Love dogs tho. Laughing

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 6:19 pm

I doubt if you can sue anybody over a wildlife encounter, whether
a snake, raccoon, bear, etc.

Out here, we have coyotes (wild dogs) which steal pets.

Our cat used to bring home small live snakes sometimes.

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 6:28 pm

Basically as sir scam a lot said, a triangular head is about the easiest way to identify a poisonous snake. The only venemous snake I know of in the US that doesn't have a triangular head is the coral snake. Coral snakes, to my knowledge, don't have fangs like the vipers do. My guess is a copperhead or a rattler.

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 6:59 pm

A coral snake does have fangs, but very small ones. It's really hard for them to get a good bite in on someone, they mostly go after lizards and bugs. However, if your pet was bitten by a coral snake, it would have been dead in minutes.

Coral snakes use neurotoxin to disable their prey and are related to cobras (family elipidae, I think). The pit vipers (rattlesnakes, copperheads and water moccasins) in the US have hemotoxin which causes tissue damage which sounds like the case with your Dalmatian.

Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 6:19 pm

High grass and other unkept landscaping attracts rodents. Rodents attract predators, such as snakes. Wild rodents can carry disease and some snakes are dangerous (obviously). Your apartment complex needs to mow the grass, put out rodent control and patrol the grounds for any nooks such as holes and dark corners the snakes/rodents can hide in. I live in Texas, too. However, in my area, we hardly see snakes, mostly hawks and the occasional falcon looking for a quick meal.

Houston probably has some city code that the apts are in violation of. Most cities have codes dictating how high the grass can get. Try calling code compliance on them, or corporate. Send the office a certified letter about the unsatisfactory conditions of the landscaping, etc and keep a copy of that. Take pictures of the dog's paw.

I hope your furbaby recovers! Sad

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