LAKE ORION, Mich. – A woman said she was walking her dog on a trail in Lake Orion when something very unexpected happened.
Linda Moran said her dog Dexter, a 5-year-old English Setter, snatched a small snake up in his mouth Wednesday when she was walking with him down a trail in Bald Mountain Park.
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"He was on the leash and we were on the path," Moran said. "I've been out there thousands of times and have never, ever had a problem."
Dexter was bitten on the chin. He was taken to Oakland Veterinary in Bloomfield Hills.
Veterinary Dr. Noni Greene said Dexter was bitten by a massasauga rattlesnake, the only rattlesnake native to Michigan. The dog was given a $900 dose of antivenin to save his chin and possibly his life, Greene said.
"If you see your pet that, say, had been on a trail or a park in Oakland County, and you see your pet swollen asymmetrically one side versus another ... bring them in," Greene said.
Moran said she was amazed that the snake didn't try to get away like she has seen many do in the past.
The relatively small massasauga rattlesnake is the only venomous snake in Michigan.
Moran and Greene said Dexter's chin and mouth tissue could have been badly damaged if he did not receive immediate treatment. The antivenin had the dog doing much better on Thursday.
See Also: Pet And Animal News
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