Elaine was bitten by a copperhead!

Oh, Elaine is our corgi, dog that is... 

Not the first time we've had a dog get bitten by something venomous, and we assume it was a copperhead since that's the only venomous snake in our neck of the woods.  We were mowing one of the pastures, and our dog usually follows us around looking for small mammals (especially rats or mice) that get run out of their hidey holes by the mower.

When we were through. about 2 p.m., we noticed she was walking unsteadily from under the front deck of the house.  Then we saw her swollen head, which she had trouble holding up, and her eyes were mostly shut. 

You can see a faint tinge of blood too, but that probably came from the two rabbits she had killed previous to the snake bite. 

We decided, from previous experience with another dog, to just monitor her progress, and make sure her airways were open.  Sine most animals get bit on the head, that is the most likely cause of distress...not being able to breathe due to swollen closed air passages.  By 6:00 that evening she looked better.  But her face is still obviously swollen.

 

Today she looks even better, and was running around barking, and contemplating chasing the horses.  She has edema under her chin, and may have draining later, but she's almost back to normal.

So what should someone expect if their dog gets bit?  It would depend on the size of the dog, and the type of bite received.  Copperheads are not know for "bad" bites, and the fact that animals do not react as frantically as humans do, I believe, aids in their recovery.  Of course you need to monitor the animal's behavior closely after the bite, but in this case all's well that ends well.