It should have been a case of once bitten, twice shy. But not for Werribee South dog Bronte, who has just recovered from her second snake bite in 12 months.
The four-year-old French mastiff suffered multiple bites from a tiger snake she found in owner Sandra Bailey’s Cunningham Road backyard and spent six days in Werribee’s Melbourne University veterinarian hospital.
Ms Bailey said it wasn’t the first time Bronte had tangled with a reptile.
In October last year, Bronte was bitten in a nearby paddock, but it was a ‘dry’ bite with no venom released.
“This time it was terrible; she had it in her mouth and it was biting and biting and it was like watching it in slow motion,” Ms Bailey said.
“Luckily, my son was home to lift her into the car; she weighs 57 kilograms. She collapsed on the 10-minute drive to the hospital, where she immediately got anti-venom.”
Ms Bailey warned pet owners that snakes were out in big numbers this year in all sorts of weather. She said Bronte was bitten in a debris-free backyard on a cool day on September 15. She now walks her dog on a lead outside her house.
Pets are not the only ones at risk, she said. On Sunday, her nephew found a tiger snake inside his Werribee South house, curled on top of blinds.
Kylie Kelers, the university’s emergency and critical care veterinarian, said staff had treated numerous pets with snake bites and expected more as they moved out of hibernation in search of food.
“Snakes don’t attack unless they are disturbed or provoked. It can be difficult to convince your curious pet to leave them alone,” Dr Kelers said. “Our domestic animals have a natural hunting instinct and pets get bitten again and again.”
Common signs of snakebite in pets include vomiting, red urine, dilated pupils, collapse, seizures, rapid shallow breathing and difficulty walking.
Tonight from 6.30pm, Wyndham Vale Community Centre will hold an information session on the risk of snakes in residential areas, first-aid for pets and how to identify different types of snakes. The community centre is at 86 Manor Lakes Boulevard.
