What a Birthday celebration
I'm still canning, but I've slowed down some. Working on pickles now, and green beans are coming in. I have boiled beets cooling right now. I'll pickle them tomorrow. I picked a few more cucumbers this afternoon, but I was very wary and watchful --- going out to the garden really gave me the creeps. Something had my undivided attention today.
My daughter and her husband had planned to take me to a Japanese restaurant today, but we had to cancel. I was ready to leave. I went and opened the front passenger door of my car and threw my things inside. I always give the dogs a milkbone each when I leave to go somewhere, so I then went to the front yard to give Bumbles his bone. Lizzie came and took her bone. Then Amos came up to me, but he wouldn't take the bone. That was really, REALLY weird. Amos never refuses a milkbone. He will take Bumbles milkbone away from him if we don't watch him! I knew something was wrong. I thought maybe he'd been kicked by a cow. Amos turned around and ran to the kitchen door, so I let him in and went in with him to inspect him and see what was wrong.
SNAKE BITE.... right on the nose. Blood and venom was oozing out from one of the fang marks. I started to go back to the car to get my purse, and there it was .... A copperhead between the back passenger car door and the carport wall.
No, I didn't kill the snake. Too risky to shoot the pistol into the concrete floor, unless I could find no other option, and there was nothing long enough and strong enough to kill it without going to the shed. Doing that would give the snake a chance to either get away, or get between me and the door, or hide somewhere in the carport. So, I called my dad. He shot over to my house like a rocket with a garden hoe and killed the copperhead. I called the vet. Then I called my daughter to cancel our lunch --- the dogs stay outside when no one is home, and I couldn't leave Amos out in this heat. His snout had swollen and he couldn't pant. Then I called my mom to help me get Amos to the vet, 25 miles away.
Copperhead bites inflict great pain, but they are rarely fatal. My fear was that Amos wouldn't be able to breathe. The vet wanted to put an I-V in Amos, order a dose of anti-venom for him, and keep him for observation for 3 nights. $700 was the estimated cost. I can't afford that, and I've dealt with dogs who had fallen victim to copperheads in the past. All that stuff is only necessary in extremely rare cases. We had a talk, and the vet agreed to give Amos shots for the swelling, pain, and an antibiotic. She gave me pills with the same meds to give him at home. I paid the bill -- $107 -- and we brought Amos home. He still has some swelling but he is doing better. He'll be okay. I hope that he has learned to avoid snakes.
My daughter was worried about Amos, and she wanted to make sure I got my birthday gift on my birthday, so she drove the 35 miles out here this afternoon with my necklace and canned dog food for Amos in tow. Amos was bitten at 10:00am. He was finally able to drink some water by 5:00 pm. I gave him a little bit of canned dog food then, but not too much. If he got sick, I didn't want him to have too much on his stomach.
It is now 8:00 pm and Amos is sleeping. His nose and jowls are still swollen, but not as badly. In a few moments, I will put a dose of his medicine in some canned dog food and feed him. Poor Amos .... scared, confused, hurt. I hate snakes. Uhmmm .... I wonder how close I came to getting bit????
Oh, yeah ... Tim is gone on a mission trip right now. His misses all of the fun.
My daughter and her husband had planned to take me to a Japanese restaurant today, but we had to cancel. I was ready to leave. I went and opened the front passenger door of my car and threw my things inside. I always give the dogs a milkbone each when I leave to go somewhere, so I then went to the front yard to give Bumbles his bone. Lizzie came and took her bone. Then Amos came up to me, but he wouldn't take the bone. That was really, REALLY weird. Amos never refuses a milkbone. He will take Bumbles milkbone away from him if we don't watch him! I knew something was wrong. I thought maybe he'd been kicked by a cow. Amos turned around and ran to the kitchen door, so I let him in and went in with him to inspect him and see what was wrong.
SNAKE BITE.... right on the nose. Blood and venom was oozing out from one of the fang marks. I started to go back to the car to get my purse, and there it was .... A copperhead between the back passenger car door and the carport wall.
No, I didn't kill the snake. Too risky to shoot the pistol into the concrete floor, unless I could find no other option, and there was nothing long enough and strong enough to kill it without going to the shed. Doing that would give the snake a chance to either get away, or get between me and the door, or hide somewhere in the carport. So, I called my dad. He shot over to my house like a rocket with a garden hoe and killed the copperhead. I called the vet. Then I called my daughter to cancel our lunch --- the dogs stay outside when no one is home, and I couldn't leave Amos out in this heat. His snout had swollen and he couldn't pant. Then I called my mom to help me get Amos to the vet, 25 miles away.
Copperhead bites inflict great pain, but they are rarely fatal. My fear was that Amos wouldn't be able to breathe. The vet wanted to put an I-V in Amos, order a dose of anti-venom for him, and keep him for observation for 3 nights. $700 was the estimated cost. I can't afford that, and I've dealt with dogs who had fallen victim to copperheads in the past. All that stuff is only necessary in extremely rare cases. We had a talk, and the vet agreed to give Amos shots for the swelling, pain, and an antibiotic. She gave me pills with the same meds to give him at home. I paid the bill -- $107 -- and we brought Amos home. He still has some swelling but he is doing better. He'll be okay. I hope that he has learned to avoid snakes.
My daughter was worried about Amos, and she wanted to make sure I got my birthday gift on my birthday, so she drove the 35 miles out here this afternoon with my necklace and canned dog food for Amos in tow. Amos was bitten at 10:00am. He was finally able to drink some water by 5:00 pm. I gave him a little bit of canned dog food then, but not too much. If he got sick, I didn't want him to have too much on his stomach.
It is now 8:00 pm and Amos is sleeping. His nose and jowls are still swollen, but not as badly. In a few moments, I will put a dose of his medicine in some canned dog food and feed him. Poor Amos .... scared, confused, hurt. I hate snakes. Uhmmm .... I wonder how close I came to getting bit????
Oh, yeah ... Tim is gone on a mission trip right now. His misses all of the fun.
Replies
Poor Amos! And poor YOU! Wow, I was exhausted just reading about it. It sounds like quite an ordeal. The canning sounds like fun, but super hot. Stay hydrated. Love you.
Aw, Poor baby!!! So sorry that happened to your sweet Amos. I\'m glad you were able to get it treated. And I Hope he feels better very soon! Dang snakes! sending lots of love to you both.
Poor boy! I\'m so glad he\'s feeling better and you\'re not crashed out! I had a dog that had a learning disability about skunks, but she figured out porcupines in one go. I hope Amos has had his last snake lesson!
So glad you knew something was wrong with Amos and acted quickly.Good old Dad to the rescue.I grew up in the bush and snakes were often a problem.In the summer we had huge aggressiveTiger snakes chase us in the river with full intention of biting us.I used to be a very fast swimmer.So glad you worked out a cheaper treatment plan for Amos.Heavens those vet fees are huge.
Well you sure are an expert pickler pilot.Must be a good feeling to grow things and preserve.Happy Birthday my friend.Lots of love Di xo
You sure know how to celebrate a birthday my MONKY friend! GOODNESS! Poor Amos. I\'m so glad you had the presence of mind not to let that snake out of your sight. You also did well in not getting suckered into a position with the vet that could have left you flat broke! I\'m sure your motherly, furbaby instinct kicked in and you know Amos will be ok! Give him a few more days, and he\'ll be unswollen and easier to look at. Poor baby. His doggie angel was watching over him. If you hadn\'t thrown him a bone to refuse, you wouldn\'t have known anything was wrong.
Yep, Tim missed the excitement, but the old lady at home knew how to take care of business. Yep. We women......we rock! xox : )