Roxby Downs vet Andrew Melville-Smith has pleaded with residents to immediately treat pets suspected of snake bites after delayed treatment has led to one dog’s death.
“In 2010 so far, we have had two cases of snake bites and the season is just starting,” Dr Melville-Smith said.
“One died because of delayed treatment, the other survived with no complications because of fast treatment.”
He said if the dog was treated sooner it could have survived.
“We lost one dog because the owners opted to ‘wait and see how she goes’ and then when the dog collapsed they rung us in a panic,” he said.
“Three hours of intensive treatment and it was decided to euthanise the dog because we weren’t making progress.”
Luckily, not all attacks have been fatal as seen in another case where two jack russells had killed a brown snake and one had a neck wound.
“They were at the vets within minutes and we had good reason to believe that one of the dogs had been struck.
“Without batting an eyelid, the owner said treat them both. They weren’t worried about the $2000 bill because their pet insurance paid the vets fees. Both dogs survived.”
He urged residents who suspected their dog had been bitten, to take it the vet for treatment immediately.
“If you wait for the signs of snake bites to occur, disorientation, dragging hind legs, and laboured breathing…it is too late.”
He said terriers and jack russells were most at risk from snakebites because they “go looking for things to chase and kill”.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recently sent the call out for people to clean up their properties before snakes emerged.
The department’s animal welfare manager Dr Deb Kelly said snakes emerged in early spring to bask in the sun and warm up after months of hibernation.