Press: Doctor's Snake Bite Fears For Her Son
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Herp Forum UK ]
Posted by W von Papineäu on October 11, 2002 at 19:12:46:
BATH CHRONICLE (UK) 11 October 02 Doctor's Snake Bite Fears For Her Son
A doctor whose pet dog nearly died from an adder bite says the snake could have killed her son if it had attacked him instead.
Hannah Leyden and her husband, John, had taken their two children, Beth, ten, and Joseph, eight, and pet dog Jacob for a walk in fields near their home.
Later that day Dr Leyden, a GP partner at Box Surgery, realised something was wrong with the one-year-old golden retriever and rushed him to the vet.
She said: "After the walk we left him in the house while we went out.
"We came back about three hours later and instead of being greeted by this lively, manic dog, he was just sitting there quietly, was very subdued, and seemed to be having trouble with one of his back legs."
At first the vet could not find what was wrong with Jacob until puncture wounds an inch and a half apart were spotted and diagnosed as an adder bite.
Dr Leyden, who lives in Atworth, said: "His back leg was very sore for quite a while but he was remarkably lucky.
"The vet said he only survived because of his size - a smaller dog would have died."
She added: "The snake must have had a huge jaw and if it had bitten my son, he could have died as he is smaller than Jacob. We all wear wellies when we go out for walks in those fields now."
Jacob is the grandson of a former Crufts champion.
Dr Leyden said: "We could so easily have come back and found him dead and never known what had happened to him. That would have been dreadful.
"He is a much-loved family pet and we are so relieved he survived the bite and has recovered."
Follow Ups:
