ALPINE, Calif. (KGTV) - Rattlesnake season has arrived, and one dog owner learned that all too well after his dog’s painful encounter with a rattler.
A week and a half later, 4-year-old Murray, a boxer/pit bull mix, is mostly back to his old self, after a painful run-in with a rattlesnake, near a trailer home in Alpine.
“Murray was coming from underneath the trailer, just running around,” said Jacob Wright, Murray’s owner.
Around 1 p.m that Monday, Wright says as he was letting Murray and his other dog into the trailer, he heard a rattle, and went out to investigate.
“He was below the porch, sitting on a kiddie pool that was under there, coiled up and staring right at me,” said Wright.
‘The snake was about 6 months old, a red diamond rattlesnake,” said Tom Mingha of Snake Solutions, who recovered the 16-inch snake and will be relocating it.
Hours after the snake was removed, Wright says Murray started acting skittish. Wright and his wife found swelling on Murray's belly. It was a snake bite. They rushed him to a veterinarian, where he received antivenin. The total bill was $1,600.
The bite turned out to be less severe, because it was on the belly and not the face, where most dogs are bitten.
"The vet says that was an unusual place for a dog to be bit,” said Wright.
Wright believes Murray may have been helped by the snake aversion training his dogs went through last month, which taught them to avoid snakes.
“We think he tried to avoid by it by jumping over it, and that’s when it struck him … we think he was trying to use his training, but jumped over it as a last resort,” said Wright.
Murray's encounter comes weeks into snake season, which was delayed by the cold winter. As for Wright, he's determined to avoid a repeat.
“I will be doing checks every day … peace of mind for us and dogs,” said Wright.
