As announced on another one of my blogs, dear Tosh, Daniel's cat passed at 6:36 am today.
This dear creature will be sorely missed. The story of his life is at this link and at links at the bottom of this link's page.
https://learnedfromdaniel.blogspot.com/2023/05/daniel-finally-gets-his-cat.html
This is the actual dead copperhead snake. It is of moderate size and is an adult.
This muscular snake shows evidence of having had a recent meal.
As regular readers of my blogs may know, we have a border collie named Skye who patrols certain forested areas of the farm, and then returns to the other animals. She can be described as a bit of an eager beaver. Perhaps she still remembers being a rescue and feels she needs to earn her keep, although she became a family member with a full retirement plan here, long ago.
On the 18th, Skye performed her normal patrol and on return to the barn area, she carried a moderately sized adult copperhead snake. My husband asked her to put it down so that he could ensure that it was dead. Next, he examined Skye who had a clear bite mark on her muzzle that was continuously dripping blood. He called my cellular phone and I quickly came down to the barn with the the correct dose of liquid diphenhydramine and an injection of broad spectrum antibiotic, appropriate for a canine of this weight. When I saw her and gave those, I also assessed her for pain and for whether any swelling endangered her airway. I also had epinephrine with me, although in all honesty, I would have had to have called to ask the vet the appropriate canine dose, because off the top of my head, I don't remember. It was only when I had done those things, I notified the vet of what had happened and the treatment we had provided. We were to continue the diphenhydramine liquid in the dose we had used every 6 hours for 24 hours, and then every eight hours until today, when she would be assessed by a vet.
How did we know HOW to treat a copperhead snake bite in a dog ? Because nine years ago, in July, the very same dog was attacked by a large copperhead in the fenced area just outside her kennel room. That time, her head swelled to more than twice its normal size and she was drooling as well as bleeding.
I hope this is the last time we encounter a copperhead bite, but it's likely not to be. This farm is surrounded by acres and acres of thick forest and is an ideal habitat for them. Sometimes, they leave the forest and come to the cleared area, probably seeking food.
This is also the last year under federal law, in which farmers may purchase injectable antibiotics to have on hand on their farms for a variety of species of animals. In future, I will need to ask the vet to provide a prescription for these items with directions for treatment of various animal species.
I am also considering having the trees around the kennel cleared except for the large oaks which provide dogs shade. I am also going to ask the farm vet whether snake repellent of any type might help keep the copperheads away from the kennel where they are a hazard to the dogs and to us.
This is also a danger to the horses, who could suffocate if bitten by a copperhead on the muzzle. In the past, the black snakes here ate the copperheads, but this does not seem to be happening as much as it once did.
Because human beings have a much more complex neurological system, a copperhead bite requires immediate expert medical care often including antivenin. A few years ago, a number of people in surrounding counties were bitten by copperheads while walking on their decks or gardening, and a few of them logged time in an ICU. Fortunately for us, dogs have less complex neurological systems and according to our vet, have a better record of recovery without copperhead antivenin than with it, and so both times, we were fortunate enough that she has recovered. A smaller dog, or perhaps an elderly or very young dog would not be so lucky.
This is my prior blog post from another one of my blogs,(https://rationalpreparedness.blogspot.com ) concerning Skye's prior copperhead bites, nine years ago.
More info at:
http://lifeaftertherescues.blogspot.com/2014/07/copperhead-snake-bites-in-dogs.html
