# A small PSA



## RollingE (Jun 19, 2018)

So even though i dont know much about you folks here i thought id share a recent tragic experience. Earlier this week my wife went outside to find a snake trying to make its way into our brooder. She did what she normally does and went inside to grab my old hunting partner, Latte. What my wife didnt realize until she sent me a photo of the snake was that this was a good sized cottonmouth, and my poor dog took 5 venomous bites. We gave her bendadryl and in the morning after work i picked up some penicillin to get her on to help with any possible infection. By the time i made it home it was already too late for antivenom, accordong to our vet. 

Her condition steadily got worse over the following days and i got her back to the vet thursday afternoon and they gave her a solid round of fluids, vitamins, steroids, pain meds, antibiotics, etc. When i got home and pulled her out of the truck she was just dead weight and as soon as i laid her down on her bed in the house she began gasping for air. Thinking of the only thing i knew to do at the time i began giving her CPR but thought it odd that she was not expelling air. Almost as if i were trying to inflate a soda bottle. After about 15 minutes of CPR I threw in the towel and my hunting pal of the past 10 years had passed. 

What i did not realize until after the fact was that by performing CPR i was inherently doing more harm than good. From what i can gather, the venom had begun breaking down cells all through her body which eventually led to a hole in her lung. Her chest cavity filling up with air is what was causing her very shallow breathing, the very reason i took her to the vet on thursday. Being so focused on her face during CPR i never once realized that she was literally blowing up like a balloon. Had i seen this i would have punctured her chest cavity with a syringe to relieve some pressure. Ive beaten myself sore over this and just hope that maybe my experience will help someone else down the line. 

Onto the PSA, please dont neglect the fact the envenomation can destroy cells everywhere there is blood flow. Im all for home care, and most dogs will likely be fine with a bite or two with proper care and knowledge. But dont let yourself get tunnel vision like i did. Please stop, if just for a moment, and take in the entire situation to assess everything and consider all possibilities in an emergency situation!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I'm so sorry you lost her.


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## Jamesgep (Aug 15, 2018)

That is not what I was thinking at all. But im sure you'll figure it out.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Oh, I'm so sorry. That was a very painful lesson to learn! (((((Hugs))))) Thanks for sharing your story here so it hopefully won't happen to someone else.


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## 15WildTurkey (Apr 13, 2015)

Try to go easy on yourself. I’m so sorry you lost your trusted friend. Sometimes it is hard to stop and take in the whole situation. I hope your experience reminds us of this should we find ourselves in an emergency situation.


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## NigerianNewbie (Jun 6, 2018)

Thank you for sharing your heart breaking story. Sorry you lost your hunting buddy. I most definitely will keep your experience in my thoughts. Around here, it's copperhead that pose a threat, and I would have done the same thing you did. I am grateful to be educated on what to look for.


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## Karen Kuntz (Apr 25, 2018)

You did the best you could under the circumstances. It is always painful to look back at the situation and think if I had only done this or that it maybe would have changed the outcome. Probably not. I have learned from many years working in the emergency medical field that sometimes things just aren't in our hands. Thank you for sharing this experience and know that you did the best you could for your buddy. So very sad and sorry for you and your wife.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Thank you for sharing your sad story. You did the best you could. So sad and sorry you all lost your buddy.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I am so very sorry.


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## thespottedgoat (Feb 3, 2018)

RollingE said:


> So even though i dont know much about you folks here i thought id share a recent tragic experience. Earlier this week my wife went outside to find a snake trying to make its way into our brooder. She did what she normally does and went inside to grab my old hunting partner, Latte. What my wife didnt realize until she sent me a photo of the snake was that this was a good sized cottonmouth, and my poor dog took 5 venomous bites. We gave her bendadryl and in the morning after work i picked up some penicillin to get her on to help with any possible infection. By the time i made it home it was already too late for antivenom, accordong to our vet.
> 
> Her condition steadily got worse over the following days and i got her back to the vet thursday afternoon and they gave her a solid round of fluids, vitamins, steroids, pain meds, antibiotics, etc. When i got home and pulled her out of the truck she was just dead weight and as soon as i laid her down on her bed in the house she began gasping for air. Thinking of the only thing i knew to do at the time i began giving her CPR but thought it odd that she was not expelling air. Almost as if i were trying to inflate a soda bottle. After about 15 minutes of CPR I threw in the towel and my hunting pal of the past 10 years had passed.
> 
> ...


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## thespottedgoat (Feb 3, 2018)

I am so sorry about your loss. Please don't blame yourself, hind sight is always 20/20. You did the best that you knew to do at that time. We lost out big fluffy 150 lb. Great Pyrenees 4th of July night. If only I had locked him in the barn and stayed with him. He was petrified of loud noises...fireworks and gunshots. My neighborhood goes crazy July 4th. Sam had already jumped the fence twice by late afternoon. Next morning we found him dead in the middle of the coral. Our guess is he died of a heart attack. He was 4 years old and just a big ol' teddy bear.


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## 15WildTurkey (Apr 13, 2015)

thespottedgoat said:


> I am so sorry about your loss. Please don't blame yourself, hind sight is always 20/20. You did the best that you knew to do at that time. We lost out big fluffy 150 lb. Great Pyrenees 4th of July night. If only I had locked him in the barn and stayed with him. He was petrified of loud noises...fireworks and gunshots. My neighborhood goes crazy July 4th. Sam had already jumped the fence twice by late afternoon. Next morning we found him dead in the middle of the coral. Our guess is he died of a heart attack. He was 4 years old and just a big ol' teddy bear.


Oh man I'm so sorry for your loss too. That's heartbreaking.


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

Sorry for the loss of your hunting partner/wife protector, @RollingE .

I am also sorry for the loss of your guard dog, @thespottedgoat .

Dogs are missed a lot when they are gone!


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