Teddy vs. the Snake

Teddy's Wounds - notice the redness under his neck.  That is from the blood pooling. 

The venom makes it so blood does not clot. 

The Water Moccasin - Teddy looking at his kill

This snake was going nowhere - Teddy broke it's neck.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

While Cris was working in the field with the tractor, I took the dogs down to the pond to feed the fish.  Teddy and Nugget usually run around the pond trying to catch frogs.  This time, Teddy found a snake in the stump of a tree that was submerged in the pond.  I knew from his bark that this was not a frog and it was confirmed when Teddy grabbed the snake and threw it up.  Teddy's terrier instinct kicked in and he went to 'going off' on this snake, despite being bitten at least two times. 

Me, being the chicken, jumped on the ATV and went for Cris.  Cris took off for the pond and I went to the barn to get a shovel.  By the time I got back to the pond, Cris had the snake and Teddy was relieved from killing duty.  The snake was on his way to snake heaven because Teddy broke it's neck.  Cris thought it best to finish the job and chopped off the snake's head with the shovel. 

At first, we thought it was just a water snake but a couple hours later, Teddy was showing signs of being bitten by something poisonous.  Cris took him to the emergency vet that night and bagged the snake to take along.  The vet said it was indeed a Water Moccasin and it bit Teddy pretty good in the face.  The venom makes it so the blood of it's victim does not clot so Teddy had a big pool of blood under his neck which was very painful.  He was crying in pain the poor puppy.  The vet gave him an IV of pain killers and antibiotic, along with a prescription of benedryl, antibiotic and pain killers to take home. 

By Tuesday, Teddy has returned to his usually happy self except he does still feel a little discomfort from the bruising under his chin and the bite marks seem to itch him. 

Teddy Bear is my hero.