{"id":5663,"date":"2013-09-09T12:06:31","date_gmt":"2013-09-09T16:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.allandouglas.com\/blog\/?p=5663"},"modified":"2025-04-21T01:56:40","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T05:56:40","slug":"showdown-snake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/showdown-snake\/","title":{"rendered":"Showdown with a Snake"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"copperhead
From www.wilddelaware.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a Sunday evening, we had all had our dinner, the dogs had had their Race Day treats.\u00a0 They went out on the porch to lounge in the cool evening air while Marie and I finished watching the NASCAR cup race at Richmond.<\/p>\n

The dogs started barking.\u00a0 It sounded like other dogs were barking too, so I assumed they were just conversing.\u00a0 Dogs do that.\u00a0 But then the intensity stepped up and I decided to go see what they were barking at.<\/p>\n

The porch light was enough to see they had a snake \u201csurrounded\u201d out in the driveway.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t very big, hard to say for sure because it was coiled up, but probably 12-18\u201d.\u00a0 Not that it makes any difference: if it\u2019s a viper, the little snakes are just as venomous as the big ones.\u00a0 More-so, really because they have not learned to meter out their venom by threat level like the bigger snakes will.\u00a0 If it was non-venomous it won\u2019t hurt them, but I\u2019d rather they didn\u2019t kill it.\u00a0 I was barefooted and in my PJ\u2019s; not proper snake wrangling attire in either case.<\/p>\n

I went back in to get a flashlight.\u00a0 In the added light I could tell from the porch it was a copperhead.\u00a0 Until I came out the dogs were just playing chicken with it.\u00a0 Once I was on scene Cochise went into \u201cProtector Mode\u201d and started attacking the snake; and taking hits from it.\u00a0 Four… five… six, this is very bad!<\/p>\n

I tried to reel Cochise (an 85 pound bull dog) in by his tether to get him out of harm\u2019s way. I had him almost to the porch steps when he lunged back into the fray, zipping the vinyl coated steel cable through my hands and burning my palms.\u00a0 I tried again.\u00a0 The pain, and a little anger, \u00a0gave me extra strength and I succeeded.\u00a0 Blondie came along willingly once Cochise was under control.\u00a0 She was uninjured.\u00a0 Cochise’s face and neck were bloody.\u00a0 It took about 30 minutes for Cochise to start ballooning up.\u00a0 This did not bode well.<\/p>\n

I called our veterinarian\u2019s emergency number right away, but that went to a clinic that is over an hour away from us and they would only say, \u201cbring him in\u201d.\u00a0 I checked the internet and found several pages on dogs being bitten by snakes and what to do.\u00a0 Copperhead bites are rarely fatal, especially in larger dogs. But they are painful and will need treatment to prevent permanent damage.<\/p>\n

I called Jen, a friend of ours whom we work with at the animal shelter. \u00a0She said we should give him a large dose of Benadryl to help stem the swelling.\u00a0 We had some on hand but not enough.\u00a0 Marie took the truck into town to see what was still open that might have some more.\u00a0 I urged that she take the flashlight and watch her step carefully on her way to the truck.\u00a0 If that thing is still out there, it\u2019s pissed off!\u00a0 Her mission went well and she was back in record time, she said the traffic in Newport was very light at 9:30 PM.<\/p>\n

Cochise was really, really good.\u00a0 The web site I was looking at said that because of the pain and swelling many dogs will get aggressive if you try to mess with the injury.\u00a0 He never did.\u00a0 I used a cold, wet wash cloth to clean him up and remove the copious amounts of bloody slime that was running out of his mouth, I opened his mouth and dropped the Benadryl tablets down his throat, and he was a perfect lamb the whole time.<\/p>\n

When he first came to us as a foster dog, Cochise came to regard his crate as His Room, a safe place, a sanctuary.\u00a0 He has not used his crate in ages, but I thought it might be a consoling place to sleep \u2013 and would help keep the bloody slime out of the bedroom carpeting.\u00a0 I padded the crate with several folded up blankets and a couple of old towels on top.\u00a0 He accepted this accommodation\u2026 for a while.\u00a0 Marie looked after him for the first shift, and when he became restless she let him out to rest in his usual snuggle-bed which was nearby.\u00a0 Some carefully placed towels helped contain most of the mess.\u00a0 I awoke at 3:00 and took over as monitor.<\/p>\n

\"dog<\/a>He was more alert this morning than he was last night.\u00a0 He\u2019s still drooling bloody slime, though not as much as last night.\u00a0 But the swelling… he turned his head just as I snapped this photo (he says, \u201cI hate that flashy thing, don\u2019t point it at me.\u201d) but the lower part of his face is 3 times as wide as it should be and the loose skin under is neck is 10 times its normal size.\u00a0 I had to go to the shop and get a different collar, one that I could let WAY out just so it wouldn\u2019t squeeze on his neck.\u00a0 We took the precaution of removing his regular collar last night.<\/p>\n

Our vet\u2019s web site said they open at 7:00 \u2013 I planned to be there a few minutes before that so we could (hopefully) slide in before their first appointment.<\/p>\n

I spread an old blanket over the passenger seat, console and floorboard of the truck and asked him if he\u2019d like to go for a truck ride.\u00a0 He lifted his head and said groggily, \u201cTruck ride?\u00a0 Yeah… I\u2019d like a truck ride\u201d (he LOVES truck rides!).\u00a0 I had backed the truck up near the porch to greatly shorten the walk in case he was having trouble with that (at 85 pounds he\u2019s too much to carry very far, especially if he\u2019s not wanting to be carried) but he walked down the steps and climbed up into the truck without problem.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to remain sitting up and had a hard time finding a comfortable position, but once settled he rode well for the trip.<\/p>\n

As planned, we got there a few minutes early… and I scared the living daylights out of the poor lil gal who was opening up when she raised the roll-up blinds on the big plate glass front window and I was standing there, anxiously peering in at her.\u00a0 But she let us in anyway. \u00a0Unfortunately they don\u2019t usually have anyone with medical skill come in until 8:30 or 9:00.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know that until we got there.<\/p>\n

Cochise bled all over their waiting room floor while we discussed the situation and she made some calls.\u00a0 The veterinarian lives in Knoxville and was already preparing to leave anyway.\u00a0 She called one of their vet-techs to see if she could come in early.\u00a0 The tech said she\u2019d try, but has kids she needs to get to school first.\u00a0 They will need to admit him, sedate him and put him on an IV to get fluids into him as well as an anti-inflammatory and an antibiotic.\u00a0We took him into one of their kennel rooms.\u00a0 Rather like a shower stall with hinged glass door.<\/p>\n

I hated leaving him: we\u2019re so rarely separated and he was already miserable.\u00a0 But we need to do what needs to be done to try to prevent permanent damage.\u00a0 I thought about staying in there with him until someone showed up to take care of him\u2014so he wouldn\u2019t feel I\u2019d abandoned him — but Marie needs the truck to get to work.\u00a0 Someone has to earn the money to pay for all this care.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even want to *think* about what it\u2019s going to cost.\u00a0 We\u2019ll deal with that later.\u00a0 Right now we need to get him better.<\/p>\n

\"Blondie<\/a>When I got home I found Blondie entrenched on the top step of the porch.\u00a0 Marie said Blondie refused to budge from that spot once Cochise and I had left.\u00a0 Now she came in, thoroughly sniffed the blanket I carried and was agitated that Cochise did not return with me.\u00a0 When I\u2019m in the house, Blondie normally comes and sits next to me.\u00a0 This morning she\u2019s staying as far away from me as she can and still see me.\u00a0 She\u2019s pining over Cochise\u2019s absence, and is miffed at me.<\/p>\n

I went out to the pens and fed Belle.\u00a0 And I and put out more snake repellent: I\u2019d done that around the workshop, now I added the pens and the parking area in front of the house.\u00a0 This is where the snake showdown took place.\u00a0 We live in a forest on a mountain side.\u00a0 Snakes also live in the woods.\u00a0 We see a few every year, but this summer we\u2019ve had more encounters than ever before.\u00a0 And fall is approaching; the time when those snakes will be looking for snug spots to winter.\u00a0 I wonder if Tractor Supply sells this repellent stuff in 55 gallon drums.<\/p>\n

\u00a0EPILOGUE<\/h2>\n

Initially, the veterinary hospital said that Cochise would need to stay over at least one night.\u00a0 But this evening when I called (again) for a status update they said that I could leave him overnight for observation<\/em> and pick him up in the morning if I wanted to, or I could pick him up this evening.\u00a0 I asked, “If I leave him overnight, will you continue his treatment?”\u00a0 This met with some him-hawing that finally ended in the revelation that they will remove the IV, let the sedative wear off, put him in a kennel, turn the lights off and go home.\u00a0 No one will stay to “observe” or deal with any problem that might come up at night.\u00a0 I figure he would be more comfortable — and better “observed” — at home.<\/p>\n

He has been drinking water, went out to relieve himself, and Marie made him some kibblemeal (like oatmeal but using ground up kibbles and chicken broth) which he wolfed down – with a lot of help from Marie and a big spoon: his tongue is still very sore and swollen and practically useless.<\/p>\n

As for the cost: that ended up being much less heart-stopping than I feared it might.\u00a0 It was actually pretty reasonable.<\/p>\n

When Cochise got home, Blondie was over-joyed to see him.\u00a0 The one minute video below is of her singing a welcome home to him.\u00a0 And she is again my little golden shadow.<\/p>\n