Snakebite

Sometimes I think having a dog is almost as hard as being a parent. Yesterday I was walking to the garage to get some tools to start painting the front porch when I spotted Emma sitting under the Lilac bush staring intently at something on the ground. I walk over to see what it was and when I got closer I could see that see that she was breathing hard and drooling from the left side of her mouth. I squatted down next to her and was alarmed to see part of her face, near the jawline, swollen.

My husband had just brought her back from a run and, after examining her himself, he was sure she had been bitten by a rattlesnake. We quickly called the Vet, got some children's liquid Benydryl down her throat, and drove her to the Vet's office. By the time we got there the entire left side of Emma's face, staring above her eye and extending all the way down the left side of her neck, was swollen. The Vet injected a strong anti-inflammatory directly into a vein in her leg to help reduce the swelling quicker than the Benydryl could.

The good news is she is going to be OK. The Vet said that at this time of year (Fall) rattlesnakes are not producing as much venom as they usually do so Emma did not get hit with a full dose of poison. The bad news is that we had to leave her at the Vet's office until Monday so he could give her the injections she needs to keep the swelling under control.