A woman is urging fellow dog owners to carry 'adder packs' and emergency rescue slings after her beloved pooch Koda was bitten by a poisonous snake.
Mum Paula was out walking with her daughter Amy and two dogs, Koda and Willow, in Northumberland National Park, when Koda was suddenly attacked in the grass, reports Chronicle Live.
Thankfully, Paula acted fast and had an 'adder pack' in the car - which contains an ice pack, a sterile saline pod, two antihistamine tablets and a 'What to do guide'.
Despite two-year-old Vizsla Koda still needing urgent anti-venom treatment, Paula says it was like a "little peace of mind" having the pack ready to hand.
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On the fateful day of the walk, Paula let Koda and Willow off their leads for a short while to run free.
Both dogs went off the track, not too far from her, and became interested in something - which Paula soon clocked was an adder snake.
She said: "Koda took a few steps back and rolled on the ground. I thought nothing of it at the time, but while the adder was out of sight, that must have been when it struck her."
Amy took care of the dogs while Paula snapped a photo of the adder - a move she thanked herself for later, when she had an exact time stamp of the bite.
Paula and Amy clipped the dogs back on their leads and checked them both over, feeling relieved at the "near miss".
Then about half an hour later, Paula noticed Koda's right eyebrow was slightly swollen and bruised and suspected it was the "unthinkable".
She said: "We got the adder pack and gave her half an antihistamine and flushed her eyebrow as best we could but she was not having a lot of it and we knew we had to keep her calm.
"Amy picked Koda up and carried her as far as she could but knew we had to get to the car as soon as we could.
"As we were about three miles from the car and we had not done any 'carry training' with the dogs, Koda freaked out, so we decided it would be better for her to walk.
"We checked her eye and face every couple of minutes to see if the swelling was changing - there was no change.
"We got to the car about two hours and 10 minutes after she was bitten.That is when the swelling started to move down her right cheek and get worse.
"Amy put the ice pack from the adder pack on the swelling and I called our vets."
The vets sent Paula to the closest practice that supplied anti-venom, and said it could cost "up to £1,000 per vial".
Paula said: "I was just relieved that there was an anti-venom available, and that we had the money in savings - we didn't care how much it was."
At Orchard House Veterinary Centre in Hexham, the vet reassured Paula that Koda "mustn't of had a lot of venom" and would be okay.
The lucky pooch was treated with anti-venom and other necessary medication within the hour and was sent home with a catheter in her leg.
Over the next few hours, the swelling got worse and moved out some more, but after five days, it almost all gone.
Following the incident, Paula has said they will do things differently.
She explained: "We will make changes going forward, but this will not stop us enjoying our beautiful area of Northumberland.
"We are about to purchase an 'emergency rescue sling' and start training, with both dogs, so they are comfortable being carried in case of emergencies.
"We will not walk too far from the car. We will remember to put the bells on the girls and they will be kept on lead too during adder season.
"Something extra that could be helpful would be to check where the nearest vets is to where we are walking before we go and even write the number down.
"Me and Amy staying calm during the situation massively helped to keep Koda calm - I was frantic inside but knew I could not show it. I was so scared that we were not going to get to the car and the vets in time.
"The tears came on the journey to the vets. I think they were more of relief than panic. It could have been much worse for our baby girl.
"I hope this has helped even just one person to realise that adders in our country are real and they are dangerous. Gain a little bit of knowledge and think ahead.
"Check out www.adderpacks.com, it's a little peace of mind having that pack. Keep your pooches safe and they they will still have the best time.
"All we want now is to spread as much awareness as possible, for people to learn from our experience, mistakes and all."
Fortunately, Amy and Paula were equipped with an adder pack at the time of the incident. Adder packs are available to purchase here.
Do you have a dog story to tell? Contact nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
