Adder Bite

During the late summer of last year, a young Lurcher came into the practise, with what the vet diagnosed as a adder bite. The owner reported noticing that the dog was not 'right' and thought she could have been bitten while she was working the previous evening.
Quite why I wondered, the owner had not reported to the vet immediately, although perhaps the seriousness of the problem was not realised at this point.
The vet I was working with, spoke honestly with the owner and said that there was no guarantee that, seeing the bite had been left so long untreated, that the leg would be able to be saved.

On a closer examination, it was clear that the bitch was holding her right hind leg off the ground, and the area around the bite was extremely swollen and red. I was asked to sterilise the bite, to remove any dirt or blood, which could have further infected the animal.
The young dog was then put on a drip, to increase the cells volume, so that any toxins would be flushed out, by being passed to the liver and the kidneys, eventually leaving with the urine.
I was asked to monitor the dog throughout the morning, looking specifically to see how she was responding to the drip, and to ensure that she was not deteriorating any further.

Every half an hour to an hour, myself and a vet nurse would gently but firmly massage the wound to ensure that the toxins were pushed down towards the foot. This was essential in ensuring that the toxins did not spread to the rest of the body.

Later in the afternoon the improvements in herself were marked, and she was a lot more willing to get up and move around, even using the leg, albeit tentatively.

The vet, showing such an important skill in this profession, kept in contact with the owner throughout the day, and informed him of any developments.
It was decided to keep the dog in overnight on a drip, just to make sure all the toxins had been removed from the body.

The next morning she was ready to go home, a remarkably quick recovery for such a serious wound, and I think that adders are something that owners should be aware of, particularly during this time of year, regardless of where they are.

This young Lurcher was extremely lucky to have kept her leg, as adder bites can be known to be fatal within 24 hours.
A real team effort was clear, as vets and nurses worked together, clearly with the dogs best interests at heart.