In her 22 years as a vet, Amy Button has never seen so many dogs bitten by snakes in such a short period of time.
Key points:
- A Hamilton vet helped ten dogs with snake bites in four days, the most she’s ever seen
- The surge in bites drained the town’s antivenom supply and nearby areas were scoured for more
- A snake catcher says keeping dogs on-leash and keeping lawns short can reduce the risk of bites
At the start of snake season in September, on the weekend of the AFL Grand Final, Dr Button saw 10 dogs with snake bites.
“It all started on Thursday afternoon … we had four dogs presented, then another four on Friday, then another on Saturday and another on Sunday,” she said.
Despite her best efforts, only five of the ten dogs survived.
Unprepared for the sheer volume of calls, Dr Button only had six vials of antivenom on hand.
“Any dog usually needs at least two vials. We had to put the word out and borrow [antivenom] from everybody,” she said.
That weekend accounted for more than half the bites she expected to see this entire spring season.
Hamilton snake catcher Chris Worthy said he usually received just one or two call outs a week, and agreed the number of bites was high for a town with just 10,000 people.
How to save your dog from snakes
For a pet dog bitten by a snake, Dr Button said it was essential to contact the nearest veterinary clinic immediately.
“The initial signs are usually a collapse or a vomit and then the dog sort of comes good,” she said.
Mr Worthy noted that many people were reluctant to go to the vet before they knew for sure their dog had been bitten.
But Dr Button said a visit to the vet at the first sign of trouble was important.
“The cases where the owner had seen [signs of a bite] and rang me straight away, we managed to save [the dog],” Dr Button said.
“The ones that had already deteriorated to the second stage — which is when they get the muscle shakes, salivating, vomiting, pupils dilated — sadly they stopped breathing and I wasn’t able to save them despite multiple vials of antivenom.”
That busy weekend in September, each of the dogs had been bitten by a tiger snake or a brown snake.
Both type of bites require require the same antivenom.
Keeping animals safe
Dr Button said in retrospect, the weekend was a “perfect storm” for danger to pets.
“It was the first decently warm weekend we had,” she said.
“The snakes are a bit slow and doughy because they’re just coming out of winter.”
Mr Worthy agreed that early Spring was a high risk period as temperatures were ideal for snakes to be active and grass was plentiful.
“When it’s really hot you won’t see them as much during the day,” he said.
He warned against letting pets off-leash in areas prone to snakes like lakes and rivers.
While at home, “the biggest thing is keeping grass down around your house”, he said.
