[ SHOWGSD-L ] Vallle Vista dog dies from Rattlesnake bite with paralyzing symptoms
- From: Crossroadsgsd@xxxxxxx
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:21:22 EDT
Valle Vista dog dies from rattlesnake bit with paralyzing symptoms
10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, August 7, 2010
By BOB PRATTE
The Press-Enterprise
Alfie, the beagle-mix dog that survived a rattlesnake bite last spring,
sadly died from a snake bite this week.
Alfie was a well-cared-for pet of Diane Mitchell and her husband, Peter
Odencrans. They live in the Valle Vista citrus area east of Hemet.
In her sorrow, Mitchell researched information about Southern Pacific
rattlers, the type veterinarians believe killed Alfie. She found a study that
indicated that neurotoxins were discovered in Southern Pacific rattlesnakes
in the San Jacinto Mountains that had similarities to the venom from the
deadly Mojave Green rattlesnake, which paralyzes its prey. The location
scared me.
Mitchell and Odencrans vaccinate their dogs against snake bites. They were
trained to avoid rattlesnakes. Still, Alfie, an incessant hunter, was
bitten last spring by a baby rattlesnake he chewed up.
I wrote about the episode because Mitchell wanted pet owners to know that
they need a plan of action if their dogs or cats are bitten by a
rattlesnake. She was surprised to discover that many vets do not have
antivenin to
treat snakebites. They send animals on to emergency clinics.
Alfie survived the first bite after treatment by California Veterinary
Specialists in Murrieta. Sadly, veterinarians did not believe they could save
Alfie after this week's bite. They noticed paralysis had developed. Alfie
barely could breath. He was euthanized. Mitchell said the vets suspected a
bite from a Southern Pacific rattler with Mojave Green-like neurotoxins in
its venom.
Most of the rattlesnakes people encounter where Mitchell and Odencrans
live are red diamonds. Southern Pacific rattlesnakes also are in the area.
They are rattlers with dark, black diamonds and also reside in higher
elevations of the San Jacinto Mountains.
Besides expected severe pain and swelling, physicians noticed that
sometimes Southern Pacific bites created paralyzing symptoms like the venom
from
the Mohave Green. Dr. Sean Bush, a Loma Linda University Medical Center
professor and physician renowned for his treatment of snakebites, wrote a
paper
about the symptoms of a Southern Pacific bite he treated that were similar
to Mojave Green bites. Bush has appeared many times in television shows
about rattlesnakes, including Venom ER.
The incident prompted _Bill Hayes_ (http://topics.pe.com/topic/Bill_Hayes)
, a professor of biology at Loma Linda whose expertise includes
rattlesnakes, to study the venom of the Southern Pacific. Hayes enlisted help
from
the University of Texas, El Paso, which is equipped to analyze venom.
Researchers wondered if the Southern Pacific snake, which lives in the
mountains
and foothills of the Inland region, had interbred with the Mojave Green from
the high desert.
Researchers checked live Southern Pacific rattlesnakes near Mojave Green
habitat that did not have neurotoxins. For comparison, they analyzed snakes
in Garner Valley, far from the Mojave Green. Four were caught near Hurkey
Creek, an area of superb mountain bike trails. Another was captured across
Highway 74 by Lake Hemet. Surprisingly, all five contained Mojave Green-like
neurotoxins. "It was totally unexpected," Hayes said.
Ironically, when we spoke, I was about to leave for an evening Hurkey
Creek bike ride right in the very woods where the snakes were caught.
Hayes calmed my nerves. He said deaths from snake bites are rare.
Researchers only know that neurotoxins were present in the venom, but did not
know
the amount. It was a small sampling and they do not know the range of
snakes with this characteristic. "We don't have reason to believe they are
more
dangerous than other rattlesnakes," he said.
Mitchell, who lives close to the San Jacintos, thinks Alfie was bitten by
a Southern Pacific rattlesnake with Mojave Green-like venom. Mitchell and
Odencrans prefer capturing and moving a snake from their yard, but in this
instance they are considering killing it if they see it. They have two more
dogs to protect.
They hope to work with Hayes to catch the snake alive so he can test its
venom.
Mitchell is sad, but she's also fascinated by what she's learned about
rattlesnakes.
"Isn't nature amazing?" she wrote in an email. "Even as I grieve for
Alfie, and remain resolved to destroy (or remove) the snake that bit him, I
marvel at the myriad ways these fascinating creatures have evolved to kill
their prey."
Cathleen Bennett & Joe Guay
Raised with Love
Sold With Care
Vice President of
San Bernardino/
Riverside GSDC
_www.crossroadsgsd.com_ (http://www.crossroadsgsd.com/)
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