Snakebit
(Critters)
This actually happened before the pecan downpour, but I forgot about it until now, so for those of you who require life to follow some sort of chronological order, read the below post first and then come back up here.
I was out covering a county commissioner’s meeting for FortBendNow (they call it Commissioner’s Court in Texas) and stopped back at the house for a coke and a sandwich before the next appointment.
As I pulled up in the driveway, Bosco the crazed Catahoula trotted up to the gate. Yet, the normal tough-dog arrogance seemed to be missing from his gait. Then I noticed the grapefruit-sized swelling at his throat.
I got the truck inside the compound and lifted his chin to find some sort of puncture wound right in the middle of the swolen area. I thought maybe a Black Widow or Brown Recluse spider, and got him over to the vet within about a half-hour.
Dr. Ping declared it a snakebite – something with fangs (or at least one fang, because only one fang broke the skin). That ruled out coral snakes – one of which had crawled up on our front porch about three months ago.
Around here, that pretty much narrows it to either a copperhead or a cotton mouth. Copperheads are more common and that’s my best guess. It must’ve snagged him in the throat as he moved in to investigate, or as he tried to eat it. (I searched the grounds and found two snake skins plus three or four possible hideouts, but no snake body.)
The vet gave Bosco a shot of cortison, a shot of antibiotics and some take-home pills of same, plus prescribed some benedryl. All of this was to be given multiple times a day for the next 10 days, but after two days the swelling was gone, and after three days he acted like his normal self.
I sincerely hope that I never get snakebit, but if it were to happen, I would dearly love to be able to shake it off after three days.
‘Course Bosco eats out of a metal pan in the driveway and I don’t want to do that.
→ B.Dunn, Oct 16, 2006, 08 30 pm
