The sound of frightened barking is not a happy one in the veil of darkness before dawn. My dogs found a snake in the backyard before the sun rose and took exception to its presence on our property. It bit Griffin on the lip. We gave him Benadryl and took him to the vet as soon as they opened, and the vet gave him some steroids and more anti-inflammatories. The vet thinks it was probably a copperhead that tagged him. He stayed for a few hours for observation, then we picked him up and took him home with instructions from the vet, antibiotics, and oral anti-inflammatories. The vet shaved the area of the bite site so we could keep an eye on the skin to see if it lives or degrades.

That afternoon I put on my thick rubber boots and long pants, picked up the snake grabber, started up the trimmer mower, and took down the grass in the backyard that had grown up high in the recent rains. It was a little awkward to mow and hold the grabber, but I wasn’t taking any chances. And reducing the snake hiding habitat made me feel a little better.

Two days later his swelling was down especially along his throat and just the area around the bite was inflamed. The vet said it was good if black scabs formed over the injection site, and he has those!

After four days the swelling was almost completely gone and the redness around the bite site was also significantly reduced.

Note: this is a personal account of a single incident. I am not providing veterinary advice.