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Writing under a pseudonym in 1775, Benjamin Franklin
proposed the rattlesnake as the symbol of America. The
serpent had already appeared on a colonial flag with
Don't Tread on Me,
and Franklin observed that she
never wounds till she has generously given notice, even to
her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading
on her.
But with due respect to an American founder, I must
point out that these vipers don't always rattle first. I
learned that last Wednesday when I took our dog Bodie for
his morning walk, which actually means run around like
crazy for half an hour, so that he won't be a manic
nuisance around the house during the rest of the
day.
After I let him out of the Blazer, I kept his leash on
until we could get away from the gravel road. He's a
car-chasing idiot, and if you figure a dog year as seven
human years, he is nineteen and bullet-proof.
This leashed yardage must have been where he got bit, but I didn't see or hear anything unusual, and the dog never acted startled. He never barked, whimpered or jumped.
Normally, when I unhook his leash, he takes off like a rocket. Instead he just sat. I walked a few steps and whistled; he finally came. He favored his left hind foot, and frequently stopped to lick it. I looked at it, saw no injury, and figured he'd picked up a sticker and he'd worry it out as he had often done before.
But it got worse. He walked on three legs and he lay down often. We soon returned home, where Martha and I examined the foot carefully and saw nothing untoward. Half an hour later, though, the foot was seriously swollen.
Time to call a pro. Our vet's office said an 11 a.m. appointment had just canceled, and we could have it if I got there in time.
We did. Dr. Kit Ryff thought the foot might be broken,
and talked about an X-ray. But first he trimmed hair from
Bodie's foot. Look at this, Ed.
He pointed to two
fang wounds, one with hideous purple bruising around it.
Snakebite.
Last summer, one of Martha's friends told her of a rattler vaccination now available for dogs. Since Bodie loves to run in the buckwheat and chico of our high desert, we got the shot then, and two boosters since.
Ryff said it was the first time in his practice that a vaccinated dog had been bit. He gave Bodie two injections, penicillin for infection from the fangs and cortisone for the swelling. Within the day, Bodie was nearly normal, though a little less energetic than usual.
Did the vaccination save Bodie? Ryff said it certainly didn't hurt, but pointed out that the bite was far from a vital area, so Bodie might have recovered without the vaccination or expensive anti-venom treatments.
Thus we can't be sure, although we will certainly get the booster next spring. As with many vaccinations, there's some controversy over its efficacy and side-effects.
There's also a lot of misleading lore about rattlesnakes
in Colorado. We do not have timber rattlers, sidewinders,
cottonmouths or diamondbacks. We have two species. One is
the massasauga in the southeastern part of the state.
Mainly we host the widespread western rattlesnake,
which has two subspecies (prairie
and midget
faded
) that taxonomists may elevate into full-bore
species.
Salida sits at 7,033 feet, which some people think is too high for rattlers. According to the Colorado Division of Wildlife, western rattlesnake habitat extends to 9,500 feet, something to keep in mind the next time you're on a mountain outing.
Our vet said the most likely times for dogs to get bit
are early in the day and from mid-afternoon to dark. And to
save your skin, you're supposed to avoid the potent mid-day
sun. Oh well, as my friend and colleague Hal Walter of
Westcliffe once observed, Don't go outdoors in Colorado
unless you're willing to risk joining the food
chain.
I have heard many accounts of rattler sightings around
Salida. But I had never seen a live one myself. And I still
haven't, even though I must have been standing right next
to the dog when he got bit. Maybe it's my bifocals. I do
know that despite Dr. Franklin's good words for an American
reptile, there was no generous notice
from the
snake.
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