Dippity Survives Snake Encounter
Illawarra Mercury
Friday February 6, 1998
Dippity the golden retriever may look pretty crook but she is one of the lucky ones.
The pup is the fourth backyard snake-bite victim in a fortnight treated by a Wollongong veterinary clinic and only the second to survive.
"It's the worst summer for snakes I've seen in 25 years," vet Rod Cox said yesterday. "We would be lucky to see one snake bite victim per year or 18 months and here we have four in a fortnight."
His colleague Brad Gorham, who treated Dippity, said parents should be warned to watch young children in the backyard.
"The snakes who have bitten our patients were two tiger snakes, a black snake and a brown snake which are all pretty venomous," he said.
Dippity, from Mt Keira, was bitten on the lip after a not-so-playful tussle with a tiger snake.
Her owner Kay Gollam, who has four children aged from five to 14, said the outcome could have been worse. "It's bad luck it happened to Dippity but we are thankful it wasn't one of the kids," she said.
Kay wasn't at home when Dippity was bitten but a quick-thinking neighbour who saw the incident caught the snake and took it and Dippity straight to the vets.
"It helps to be able to identify the snake to match it up with the antivenene but getting help quickly is more important," Mr Gorham said.
"We had another golden retriever from Mt Pleasant which didn't make it in time yesterday."
The practice last week treated a cat which survived and a mixed breed dog which died.
Dippity, who has been on a drip for 10 days is not yet out of the woods. But, her temperature is normal and vital signs good, although she will be left with liver and muscle damage.
Warning signs when an animal has been bitten by a snake are weakness, pale gums, dilated pupils and trembling.
© 1998 Illawarra Mercury
