Really!
Otis, our cute little 25 pound lean, mean fun machine dog was in the garage with Karen and I, and as they were leaving to go back in the house, he stepped on a baby rattlesnake on the walk.
He will spend several months recovering from two bites by that snake. Apparently it's that time of the year, when there are a.) lots of baby snakes and b.) lots of snakes. [more]Seems that during late March to early April, the snakes breed like cats (according to one veternarian) and as a result, BAM – in May, there are all those little babies.
Since babies are not yet skilled in venom control, with every bite they inject a full load of venom. This makes them more deadly than their parents. We were fortunate to get Otis to a veternary clinic that had rattlesnake anti-venom within 15 minutes of the bites. On the way, I was yelling at some slow drivers, who insisted on driving at or below the speed limit. There may also have been some red lights that were red at the wrong time.
He still has a lot of pain, but that is managed with drugs (just like a tobacco patch), and his appetite has returned. He's not as spunky as he used to be, but that is because of the drugs.
The moral – always check your doorstep for rattlers. They like the warmth that is sometimes there. How the baby got on the walk beside our garage (near our front door) is a mystery. One neighbor says she has seen snakes on her door step at least a couple of times this year.