Nov2013_OLD MILL ANIMAL HOSPITAL PET OF THE MONTH

The summer worries are truly upon us now with the rapidly rising temperatures, and tick paralysis and snake envenomations are common presentations at the Old Mill Animal Hospital.  One special patient we saw recently had a truly remarkable recovery – meet Jill, a 3-year old little terrier, who came across a brown snake in her yard, and while trying to kill it unfortunately got bitten.

Brown snakes usually cause an initial shock response, with collapse, lowered blood pressure, and vomiting.  Some time after the initial shock response the dog may seem to recover, but will then develop a bleeding disorder as an effect of the venom, which is life-threatening.  Jill was certainly in a very bad way when rushed into the Hospital by her owner, and not only was she collapsed from shock, she was also 8 weeks pregnant.  Jill required multiple vials of snake antivenin, oxygen therapy, and other emergency treatment to get her through the initial shock of the envenomation, and to control the bleeding.  There was grave concern for the health of her unborn puppies, as it is unknown what the effect of the venom has on developing foetuses, and with the treatment the main aim was to save her life. 

The clever little terrier surprised us all by having 5 very healthy little puppies while in hospital recovering.