Dog in coma after saving owner from deadly snake

LiveNews (Australia) ^ | October 31, 2007 | Drew Cratchley

[Stoat]

Dog in coma after saving owner from deadly snake

 

 

A young Kelpie named Tess is being hailed a lifesaver after defending its owner from a deadly brown snake on the Gold Coast.

However the heroic pet only has a 50-50 chance of survival after being bitten by the giant reptile.

Fay Palethorpe, a 68-year-old retiree from Ingleside, was gardening on her 8 hectare property on Sunday morning when she came face to face with the biggest brown snake she'd ever seen.

She says it was huge, over two metres long and reared up into the air and struck at her three times.

Ms Palethorpe says she just screamed and ran but the snake chased her before her three kelpies including Tess jumped to her defence.

She says Tess attacked the snake and hurled it into the air but was bitten on the ear.

Ms Palethorpe says her vet has seen plenty of cases of snake bites and rated this as one of the worst.

She says he told her if the snake had got her she wouldn't have reached her back stairs.

Tess has been in a coma since Sunday but today she's been moving and blinking her eyes and seems a little better each hour.

[Stoat]

See a better article here:

Dog in coma after saving owner from deadly snake The Courier-Mail

(I didn't post it because FR rules require heavy editing from this source)

 

A Kelpie (Australian sheepdog)....not the one from the article; posted so that

people will know what sort of dog it is   :-)

Readers might also enjoy this FR thread:

Dog saves girl from snake (Formerly abused dog repays new family's love - touching story)

[Stoat]

Hero Doggie Ping :-)

[LibWhacker]

I wonder if it would've been a good idea to cut the dog's ear off? Just asking.

Hope the pup recovers.

[Mr Inviso]

Maybe if enough people pray for that brave dog....

[Stoat]

I wonder if it would've been a good idea to cut the dog's ear off? Just asking.

Because I couldn't post the better article, details like this are left out and so the full story isn't apparent:

Dog in coma after saving owner from deadly snake The Courier-Mail

Initially Tess appeared to have won the battle, with the snake slinking off, but the snake's deadly venom soon took effect.

"I couldn't find a bite anywhere, and she was fine, so I thought I'd just keep an eye on her," Ms Palethorpe said.

"But a snake expert told me this happens, they get a high, it's like a drug and they get a high, then they just go bang.

"And she did, and by the time I put her in the car to go to the vet she was weeing blood."

Tess was bitten on the inside of the ear, and is now in the hands of Ms Palethorpe's regular vet after receiving an urgent dose of antivenene from an emergency clinic.

Hope the pup recovers.

Few animals deserve a full recovery and a Blessed life more than this dog.

I wonder if it would've been a good idea to cut the dog's ear off? Just asking.

Because I couldn't post the better article, details like this are left out and so the full story isn't apparent:

Dog in coma after saving owner from deadly snake The Courier-Mail

Initially Tess appeared to have won the battle, with the snake slinking off, but the snake's deadly venom soon took effect.

"I couldn't find a bite anywhere, and she was fine, so I thought I'd just keep an eye on her," Ms Palethorpe said.

"But a snake expert told me this happens, they get a high, it's like a drug and they get a high, then they just go bang.

"And she did, and by the time I put her in the car to go to the vet she was weeing blood."

Tess was bitten on the inside of the ear, and is now in the hands of Ms Palethorpe's regular vet after receiving an urgent dose of antivenene from an emergency clinic.

Hope the pup recovers.

[Flavius]

any records of cats doing same

[DJ MacWoW]

Hubbys cat went after a man that forced his way into our home when I was 8 months pregnant and couldn’t run to save my life. The man fled.

[RoadTest]

Yay, Kitty!

[snippy_about_it]

Amen. Prayers for man’s best friend.

[HairOfTheDog]

Oh I hope he makes it.

Ping!

Other articles with keyword "DOGGIEPING" since 12/29/04

[Hoodlum91]

Mine used to bring the snakes inside the house and drop them on the floor, still alive.

None were poisonous, but I still think their motives were suspect.

[Badeye]

I’m not surprised at the heroism displayed by this magnificent dog. I hope she survives...but if not, all dogs go to heaven.

And my second thought is this species of animal is subjected to the Michael Vicks of the world.....

[-=SoylentSquirrel=-]

Kelpies look a bit like our Shepherds....

[Badeye]

I noticed, same coloring my Rott/Shepard mix breed has for the most part.

[Rb ver. 2.0]

This article follows another one posted last night about a different Aussie dog that fought off a Brown Snake to protect a family member. He survived the bite.

[CarolinaGOP]

"any records of cats doing same"

As a dog lover all I can say is thank you for the laugh this morning!;)

[Rb ver. 2.0]

And, after reading about these brown snakes, Rattlers, Moccasins and Copperheads don’t seem so bad.........

[tiki]

I’ve never actually seen a cat kill a deadly snake and I’ve heard they do but I have seen one kill an non-poisonous one. It was in my house so I got the cat and played it to death.

[painter]

Brown snakes are the deadliest snakes in the world.

[reagan_fanatic]

Cats are not always so laid-back.

About 15 years ago, my Wife and I was given a cat by my Boss. He seemed gentile enough, but a couple of days later, something just snapped and he turned into a demon cat from hell. He had my Wife backed into a corner of our kitchen and was advancing on her snarling, screeching and slashing the air with his claws. I've never seen an animal as vicious as this cat was.

Even the guy from animal control had trouble getting him under control and remarked that he'd never seen a cat as mean and confrontational as this one.

Personally, I hope they euthanized the little b*stard as soon as they got him back to the shelter.