Family’s grief as adder kills beloved terrier
Family pet Oscar and, right, an adder like the one that bit him on a walk A BELOVED dog has died after being bitten by an adder on a mountain walk.
Playful Jack Russell terrier Oscar was out with his owner Katy Davies, 29, and her family.
Last night she said: “Oscar had been in and out of the ferns. On the way back to the car he came on to the path with his front right leg lifted unable to put it to the floor.”
Oscar, seven, was taken to a vet with a swollen paw in the belief he had twisted or broken his leg.
However, it soon transpired he had been fatally bitten.
Mrs Davies added: “We had to make the heartbreaking decision to have him put to sleep.
“The poison had stopped his blood being able to clot as normal and the vet believed that he was now bleeding internally – possibly into his chest – causing breathing difficulties.
“We have been left completely heartbroken. We can't believe how a simple dog walk in a place that we have taken him time and time again could end in such tragic circumstances.”
Mrs Davies, her husband Richard, 39, and their three-year-old son Rory were walking on Caerphilly mountain in South Wales.
The family, of Energlyn, Caerphilly, are now calling for warning signs.
Mrs Davies said: “I dread to think what could have happened if it had been our three-year-old that stood on the snake.”