Rather than suffer trauma-by-TV, Lilly and I went for a hike Sunday, September 11, 2011. It’s our version of praying, I suppose you could say. It has been a HUGE snake year with many sightings nearby, so I’m ever-vigilant … constantly sweeping the trail ahead with my eyes. Look what I found:
Last week, Mary-Alice from Dog Jaunt, a great blog all about dog travel, posted our guest post about the dos and don’ts of hiking in rattlesnake-prone regions. I hope you will check it out. Dog Jaunt has a whole new graphic look and even a neat Dog Jaunt Store, including dog travel stuff and shirts that say … “Because you dog will never ask are we there yet.”
After the recent rattlesnake scare, our friend Debbie Jacobs from FearfulDogs.com pointed out that I said I was still upset, shaken, feeling the effects of the fear hours later. The truth is this VERY BIG scare hung remained active in my body for days. And, as Debbie reminded us, that’s an important lesson when dealing with a fearful dog.
Ginko is a doggone, five-star, full-fledged HERO! This morning, he protected Lilly from a rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike mere feet from the back of the house. I’m still shaking, and it’s been a few hours since it happened.
Here, at last, the story of Lilly’s recent snakebite. While unraveling what must have transpired before that Thursday morning when Lilly woke up with a swollen cheek, our best guess is that a snake got her sometime Tuesday or Wednesday of that week. The fact that she suffered a bite a couple years ago may explain the delayed, less-severe response this time — almost like the first bite “vaccinated” her to the venom (at least a little).
Oh, yeah. It’s another snakebite. Seriously. I do intend to write a whole thing, but I’m just too upset and tired. Lilly spent the day getting onsite treatment at the veterinary hospital, but she is home now.
