Pets survive puff adder bites
Dogs rushed to vets after snake attacks
TWO dogs are recovering after they were bitten by puff adders in separate incidents in Nelson Mandela Bay this week. Both snake attacks happened on Wednesday.
In the first, Sammy, a 10year-old Labrador-cross-Alsation, suffered a bite to the face in Sardinia Bay at about 4pm.
When Glenn Hodgkinson, 48, owner of GH Air Conditioning and Ventilation, arrived at his Sardinia Bay home after work, his neighbour met him in a panic.
“As I pulled up, my neighbour was shouting that the dog was fighting with a snake,” Hodgkinson said.
“I jumped out the car, ran around the back of the house and saw Sammy walking out from underneath a deck that adjoins the house.
“I noticed blood on her mouth and put her straight into the car. I then sped off to the vet,” he said.
“I was very worried as her entire face started swelling.”
Hodgkinson took Sammy to the Lovemore Park Animal Hospital in Buffelsfontein Road, where Dr Nick Baxter said Sammy had a 50-50 chance of survival.
“It did not look good. The vet gave Sammy anti-venom and put her on a drip,” Hodgkinson said.
He took Sammy home yesterday at 3pm.
The second incident happened on the outskirts of the Bay in Colchester at Sundays River, when a pitbull, Mia, was bitten on the lip by a puff adder at about 7.30pm
Mia’s owner Andre Smit, 54, rushed her to the Mount Pleasant Veterinary Clinic where Dr Chris de Beer placed Mia on a drip and gave her anti-venom.
“I was braaing and the dogs were barking,” Smit said.
“I walked to the wall and saw two cats. I chased them away and as I turned around I heard a loud puffing.
“I switched the outside lights on and as I approached the snake it lunged at me. Mia just went for it,” he said.
“I managed to pull her away after she was bitten on the lip. I then shot the snake,” he said.
Smit said he contacted De Beer and rushed Mia through to his Buffelsfontein practice.
“He was great and gave her adrenaline and the anti-venom. It was worrying as within 10 minutes her face and neck started swelling,” he said.
By midday yesterday, Mia had also been taken home.
Mia made headlines last year after she was stolen, allegedly for fighting.
She was rescued by SPCA inspector Deon Combrink following a tip-off.
At the time, the vet confirmed that Mia had been a victim of bestiality. A criminal case is still under investigation by the Uitenhage police.
Smit said after Mia’s abduction, he and his wife, Ann, had moved to the Sundays River area to give her a better life.
Sandula Conservation director Mark Marshall said another Bay dog had been bitten two weeks ago and also survived.