EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Last night while sitting on the porch with my wife, our oldest Akita took off after something along the fence. She got it, whipped it around, and then came back to us like nothing happened. We wondered what it was, so I grabbed my flashlight and saw that it was a two foot long copperhead.
She killed it, but we didn't know if it bit her or not. We looked her over real good, but didn't see any sign of it. My wife called our vet and he said to be safe, bring her in to the Emergency Vet Hospital to be sure. While on the way there, she started drooling and swelling along the left side of snout. She also had a kind of far away look in her eyes.
The Doctor said that dogs have an ability to isolate the poison and not let it spread through their body like it does in humans. The swelling got worse on the left side of her lips, and a soft feeling ball the size of an egg formed on her neck just under the skin. The Doctor gave her a shot containing anti histamine and antibiotics and said to give us some medicine to give her for the next week. He also said to give her two Benadryl twice a day. Cost of visit and medicine was $160.
Before going to bed, we cut off her collar. It was getting tight with the swelling. She slept through the night without any issues, and this morning she drank a little water. Not a lot, but at least something. She weighs 97 pounds, which is a little heavy for her, but she wont suffer too much if she misses a few meals.
From what we are learning, dogs get bit by copperheads all the time. Very rarely is it fatal. Almost never with large dogs. It's scary, but we're feeling optimistic on a quick and full recovery. Just another aspect of living in the country that we're learning about.
She killed it, but we didn't know if it bit her or not. We looked her over real good, but didn't see any sign of it. My wife called our vet and he said to be safe, bring her in to the Emergency Vet Hospital to be sure. While on the way there, she started drooling and swelling along the left side of snout. She also had a kind of far away look in her eyes.
The Doctor said that dogs have an ability to isolate the poison and not let it spread through their body like it does in humans. The swelling got worse on the left side of her lips, and a soft feeling ball the size of an egg formed on her neck just under the skin. The Doctor gave her a shot containing anti histamine and antibiotics and said to give us some medicine to give her for the next week. He also said to give her two Benadryl twice a day. Cost of visit and medicine was $160.
Before going to bed, we cut off her collar. It was getting tight with the swelling. She slept through the night without any issues, and this morning she drank a little water. Not a lot, but at least something. She weighs 97 pounds, which is a little heavy for her, but she wont suffer too much if she misses a few meals.
From what we are learning, dogs get bit by copperheads all the time. Very rarely is it fatal. Almost never with large dogs. It's scary, but we're feeling optimistic on a quick and full recovery. Just another aspect of living in the country that we're learning about.
