My little buddy took

[Gringo Viejo]

"Now that he has been biten, does this mean if he get bitten again that they would have to give him antivenin again? This stuf is a $1000.00 per vial."

There is a vaccine for dogs that greatly reduces the effect of rattlesnake bites and is supposedly effective for any pit viper bite. I am a rancher in a remote area, so both our big dogs receive the vaccine twice annually. Our brain dead yellow lab has been bitten on the face twice. There are no emergency vet clinics out here, and in both cases it was more than 8 hours before I could get her to her vet. She was not given antivenin either time. There was a lot of swelling, and she was in a lot of pain, but she recovered completely both times after a few hours of IV in the clinic and an antibiotic & pain relief regimen. The second time was not as serious as the first. The vet told me that he would have given her antivenin both times just as insurance if he had seen her more quickly, but there is no doubt that the vaccine was very effective. I'm glad your dog is OK.



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[02SilverStroke]

Years ago we had a "Heinz 57 variety" dog that was bitten by a snake on her neck, and my wife took her to the vet to get a shot (I believe it was adrenalin) to alleviate the pain and swelling. Stupid vet wouldn't keep the dog since she hadn't had a parvo vaccine, and later that afternoon, my wife watched her die as her neck swelled and there wasn't time to get her to an emergency vet. It could have been a blessing in disguise, because exactly one month later, our house was destroyed by a tornado, and she would probably have bitten anyone who came around.