Snake Season: Part 3 BUDDY AND THE RATTLESNAKE ENCOUNTER by Eunice Brooks

Buddy is our very large (115 lb) Chocolate Lab. Last September he rushed out our back door (with our other dogs) to greet a dog who had come to the outside of our 5 ft. chain link fence. Unknowing to us there was a very large Diamond Back Rattler (estimated about 6 ft) coiled in the corner of our yard, looking for mice. Buddy ran right into the snake who struck him 3 times – twice on the face and once on the neck.

At first we did not know the snake was there – Buddy just looked stunned and got very quiet. However, our other dogs were barking very loudly and lunging toward the tree by where the snake was concealed. I grew up in an area where rattlesnakes were very common so I recognized the sound of the snake when I went over to see what the dogs were so excited about. I called my husband and told him, “There is a very big rattlesnake out here; I can hear him but I can’t see him.” He came over to where I was standing and we finally saw the snake – he was the same color as the tree bark of our Mahogany Tree and the old mulch underneath it.

We got the dogs in the house and immediately tried calling the Ranger who lives in Cochiti Lake. He was unavailable but we left a phone message for him concerning what had happened to Buddy. We immediately checked the dogs – the ones who had been lunging at the snake first because we were afraid they had gotten bitten. We could not find any bites on them. We then saw Buddy lying down and blood on the floor in front of him and we knew then that he was the one who had been bitten. It was already about 5 PM and we were trying desperately to get in touch with our Vet. I left phone messages on his cell phone, office phone and at his home. We grabbed Buddy and put him in the car and headed for Santa Fe.

Buddy was born without hip joints and ligaments in his hips and so he has a great deal of difficulty climbing over anything. We put him all the way in the back of the SUV on his bed so he would be more comfortable. The Vet called us on my cell phone in the car and said, “Get him to my office ASAP” . There was heavy railroad construction going on Rt. 25 and but we still somehow managed to maneuver through all of – well over the speed limit – and about the time we reached Santa Fe, Buddy’s pain was greatly accelerated and missing hips joints or not – he climbed over the back seat – into the front seat into my lap and tried to claw his way out of the car. Thank God we were only 4 blocks from the vet when that happened. When we arrived at the vet he was already going into shock. The Vet put him immediately on oxygen and worked to stabilize him. Because of Buddy’s size he survived the Diamond Back’s bites but just barely.

Here are some facts that will help you if you have an animal that gets bitten.

• The Diamond Back is the most lethal of the rattlesnakes.
• Anti-Snake venom does not work on dogs and it is extremely expensive.
• The new shots that are called preventative – will slow the process of the venom long enough so that your dog can have a better chance of surviving the ordeal. The smaller the animal – the quicker the venom works.
• If the bite is on a leg it is more lethal because there is not enough muscle to shield the animal from the fast transfer of the poison.
• The vet and the emergency animal hospital both gave Benadryl to Buddy. It helps to dilate the blood vessels so that the animal doesn’t hemorrhage as severely.
• The venom from a Diamond Back Rattler causes the blood to quit coagulating and the animal begins to bleed out through the wounds and the pores. It also starts to dissolve the tissue and muscle so that the rattler can eat his prey.

Buddy bled out for over 3 weeks. The side of his face went necrotic – turned black and begin to die – because he is so large, his size saved his life. His head swelled triple its size and he was in severe pain – we had to give him morphine shots every day for over a week for the pain. It was nightmare I pray we never have to experience again.

How do you help protect your animals from this snake? Here is the advice we received from the Ranger.

1. Keep all bird feeders at least 100 yards away from your home. Mice are drawn to the feeders; the snakes are drawn to the mice and the birds.
   
2. Place a snake fence around your yard if possible. It is an enclosure you attach to your present fence if it is a chain link; or you can simply build one. It should be 2 – 3 feet high and the bottom should be covered by soil so that the snake cannot go under it. Snakes don’t climb so it doesn’t have to be a high fence. We used 2 ft high galvanized wire for ours. The holes are very small and it is very hard and sturdy and can withstand the heavy winds we have here – it is relatively inexpensive and you can get it at Lowes and Home Depot. If the snake can get its nose into the hole of a chain link, horse fence or privacy fence, it can stretch itself small enough to get through and into your yard.
3. If your animal does get bitten – give it Benadryl immediately and get your animal to the vet ASAP; you only have about 45 minutes before the animal goes into shock.
4. If a child gets bitten call 911 or the Cochiti Lake medics ASAP – you have a very limited amount of time.

The Ranger said that there is most probably a nest of the snakes in the arroyo on the South Ridge of Cochiti Lake. We live right on that ridge and the week Buddy got bit there were multiple sightings of these big snakes on this same ridge.

Buddy is doing well now and he is happy. The part of his facial tissue that he lost is about 6 inches by 1 inch and is where his jowls were on the upper part of his mouth. You don’t see it if you are not looking for it. He could have lost the tissue on the whole side of his face where he was stuck. He is a walking Miracle!

I hope this article will help you keep your animals safe. Just quick notes for cat owners – cats very rarely get bitten by snakes.

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