When they returned some three hours later they knew at a distance something was terribly wrong at home. Tosh, their 10 year-old Scottie, was yelping and screaming and throwing-up balls of foam. His face, head, and neck were already swollen from a bloody bite mark on his muzzle. Inspection revealed that Corky, the 2 year-old Scottie, had been bitten, too, and both were rushed to a veterinarian in Taos.

"Tosh took the worst of it," Judy told me in a phone interview. "He must have gotten the full dose of that rattler's venom. By the time I got to him his head and neck were already so swollen I had difficulty removing his collar so he could breathe! It broke my heart to think that if we'd arrived much later his own collar might have strangled him."

Corky, the young Scottie, survived. Tosh, Judy's 10 year-old soul-mate, died the next day.

Government statistics estimate that each year about 8,000 people receive venomous bites in the U.S., and nine to 15 human victims die. There are no records for numbers of pets bitten, but the numbers are bound to be significant, especially if, like the Vargas family, it's your companion who's fighting for its life.

As adventurers more and more seek out wilderness areas for recreation and habitation, the potential dangers posed by venomous snakes must be taken seriously. According to the FDA every state in the union, except Maine, Alaska and Hawaii, is home to at least one of 20 domestic venomous snake species. A bite from one of these, in which the snake may inject varying doses of toxic venom, should always be considered a medical emergency, says the American Red Cross.

Dangerous Snakes

Venomous snakes in the USA all belong to one of two families of reptiles: Crotalids (pit vipers), or Elapids, which include only the coral snake (eastern and western versions). Most crotalids have venom less toxic than that of the coral snake, but they are, however, more dangerous because (a) they are more likely to bite you or your pet, (b) they inject venom much more efficiently, and (c) they are usually larger and have more venom to inject.

About 99 percent of the venomous bites in this country are from the Crotalidae family of pit vipers, which include rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouth water moccasins. These snakes get their common name from a small "pit" between the eye and nostril that allows the snake to sense prey at night.

Copperhead venom is probably the mildest, and the Mojave and Canebrake Rattlesnakes the most toxic of the pit vipers, since these are high in neurotoxins that can be up to 20 times more potent than diamondback venom.

Toxins & Symptoms

Snake venom usually contains two types of toxin: Hemolytic toxins which attack the walls of blood vessels, and Neurotoxins which attack the nervous system. All snake venom probably has some of each kind of toxin, but in general the pit vipers have higher hemolytic concentrations, although the Mojave rattler is an exception.

Hemolytic poisons break down blood vessel walls, allowing serum to escape into surrounding tissue and cause clotting within the vessels. The result is severe swelling, pain, and discoloration at the site. Dogs who survive snake-bite often don't escape without necrosis, the death and sloughing-off of surrounding tissue at the bite. One handler was horrified to discover a `hole' the size of a small orange in her prize-winning Rottweiller's chest after his recovery from a rattlesnake bite.

The potency of venom will vary, with species, with time of year and geographic area, and with circumstantial variables, all rendering it difficult to quickly and accurately judge severity of a given case, even by experts. Pit vipers have the most efficient injection mechanism of any snake, about as good as a hypodermic syringe and needle. They are equipped with relatively long hollow fold-back fangs backed up by a system for injecting venom through those fangs. This gives them the ability to inject large volumes of venom quickly.

Fortunately for our pets, this reptillian toxin-delivery-system is not perfect. Snakes do not always inject venom each time they bite, and sometimes their timing is off, or they connect with only one fang, or their venom levels are depleted.

But don't be careless. An Albuquerque terrier owner, out with his dog for an early spring hike on New Mexico lava flats, felt safe since the weather was still too cold for snakes to be out of their hybernation dens, or if out, they'd be too sluggish to be threatening. Or so he thought. His little terrier died in his arms before they could get to a vet's clinic. The rattler that bit him was, indeed, sluggish, but nevertheless fully embedded its fangs into the small dog's shoulder, emptied its venom sacks, and was still dangling from the dog when the owner rescued him!

Precautions

The best medicine for snake-bite is prevention. Leave snakes alone. Surprises, however, happen and call for plans of action that are pre-planned and efficient. Let me offer the following suggestions:

-- don't over-react by eliminating outdoor adventures. That's like banning your child from playing games because they could get hurt. The fun you'll forfeit is too much for you and your Scottie to pay;

--keep your Scottie under control. Obedience is not a luxury when you're out. Your dog's life may depend on its responsiveness to your command;

--keep a first-aid pack handy, containing gauze pads, Betadine, tape, and a Sawyer Extractor Kit (available at better sporting goods/hiking outfitters);

--copy the phone # of the Poison & Drug Information Center for your State or local area and tape contact information inside your first-aid kit;

--visualize yourself calming your Scottie, administering necessary first-aid, and getting to the nearest medical facility. The time to plan is before you need to act;

--keep alert. Prevention is the best remedy.

Emergency Aid

The Herpmed's Poisons Information Database of New York recommends the following:

Conclusion

Judy Vargas, of Taos, knows that snake-bite can be a Scottie owner's nightmare. "Scotties are so full of themselves," she says. "They're too curious and too aggressive for their own good when it comes to snakes!"

But Judy is quick to say that life must go on. "Life itself is a risk," she insists. "I'm more cautious now, more aware of dangers than before we lost Tosh. But Scotties have to explore, they have to be curious, to be in control of their domain, and to force them to be less adventurous out of fear of risks seems to me a sin against the dogs. I know bad things can happen to good dogs. But my Tosh loved life, and he'd be the first to say, `Don't be afraid, Mom. Live fully every day!'"

Visible through the kitchen window on the east side of the Vargas home, under a shade tree, is a small pet cemetery with a new headstone inscribed, `Tosh.' "I wanted to see it every time I looked out my kitchen," Judy confided. "Tosh was special. He'll always be remembered."

FURTHER READING: Behler, J.L. & King, F.W., Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles & Amphibians (1985); Conant, R., A Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians of Eastern & Central North America (1975).

©1998 Tartan Scottie. Reprinted from Great Scots Magazine Vol 2 No 2 1997.