Just Ugly.

I had just settled down to my computer to catch up on some mindless internet surfing when the phone rang. Chances are I was on the Oiselle website, reading their blog or picking out what my next purchase would be (if I had unlimited budget.) I looked at my caller ID and saw that it was Jeff. He'd been gone on a run with Harvey for only about five minutes but here he was calling me? 

"Hey. What's up? Everything Ok?" I answered the phone on the second ring.

"No. I need you to come get me." He sounded fairly calm but something must have been up or he wouldn't have called.  

"Ok. Do you need me to bring anything?" I asked, already wondering in my mind if I should try to round up the shotgun...

"No, just hurry up." He hung up. I had a suspicious feeling I knew why he had called. If it had simply been that his run had started off poorly, he wouldn't have asked me to bail him out. He would have either turned around on his own, or plowed on through. No, it must have been Harvey. And it was snake season...

I pulled up in the pickup. Jeff was only a short distance north of the yard and scanned for the dog. I saw him soon enough and he appeared to be trotting along just fine. I gave Jeff a questioning look and he said, "It's Harvey. He found a rattlesnake." 

Sure enough, there were the two telltale puncture marks on the left side of his face. From fangs. 

We hurried back to the yard and ran inside. Jeff called the vet and said we'd be on our way. We gathered up a few things, loaded up the dog, who by now was starting to walk a bit more unsteadily, and headed for Havre. It was an hour's drive to the vet clinic from our house. 

Harvey, soon after being bit. You can see one of the punctures and the swelling around it.

As we drove, I recalled the first and only other time Harvey had been bit. He was not quite one year old at that point. Jeff and I had been inside preparing dinner and Harvey was outside in the yard. After a while, we went out to get him and bring him in. Typically, when we open the door and call his name, he comes trotting on up to the house with bright eyes and tail wagging. That night, he was laying down in the grass. He looked at Jeff, tried to get up and walk toward him, and then swayed back to the ground. He had long strings of saliva hanging from his jowls.

Jeff and I together picked him up and brought him inside. As we carried him, we noticed a few places where he had vomited. I was pretty scared we were going to lose our puppy. We called the vet and explained the situation. No, we hadn't seen the snake, but Harvey did have a puncture on his snout, and after describing his symptoms, the vet confirmed that it had been a snake bite and to bring Harvey in as quickly as we could. Harvey was really out of it that first time. He could hardly walk and was sort of drifting in and out of what I told myself was sleep. His face had swollen up significantly by the time we reached the vet office and he seemed pretty dazed. I was terrified.

Harvey's face beginning to swell, en route to the vet this past Saturday night.
You can see both punctures from the fangs in this photo.

With that first bite, Harvey's symptoms were severe enough that the vet suggested he stay overnight in their hospital. She said she thought he would be fine, but maybe it would be best if he stayed over. She had administered a powerful steroid shot to help with pain and inflammation and also began an antibiotic regimen. We left feeling reassured but still sad and worried. We had Harvey vaccinated for rattlesnake venom just a few months prior and I remember thinking, what if he hadn't had that vaccine? The conversation with the vet may have gone differently. When I went back to get him the next morning, he was still very swollen in his face, but his eyes were brighter and he was happy to see me. I knew at that point that he'd be OK.

Since then, we've had Harvey vaccinated each spring. It always seems like an insignificant price to pay for the greatly increased likelihood of keeping our best friend around longer if he gets bit. We've encountered snakes every year that I've lived here, but he hadn't been bit again. Until now.

Harvey at the vet, this time around. The swelling in his face had increased at this point and even started travelling down into his chest a bit.

Harvey had been bit on the snout, again. Our neighbor had told us that he'd seen some snakes out and to be careful, but we hadn't seen any yet. Typically, if we have a chance to find a dead snake or kill one, we'll use the dead one to train Harvey to stay away from that smell. This year, we hadn't had a chance to brush up on his training yet, like we normally do. This year, the first one he found nailed him.

But I wasn't nearly as afraid this time as last time. I felt like if he could survive that first bite when he was still so young, not quite fully grown, he should be OK this time. Plus, his initial reactions were so much less severe-- he could still walk mostly OK and he hadn't vomited. His eyes never got dull like they had that first time. He was sleepy and sore, definitely, but he still stayed sharp throughout. The vet again administered a steroid injection, but this time sent Harvey home with us, along with some antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory pill. He could stay the night at home, at our house. Another good sign.

With Harvey and his meds happily secured back in the vehicle, it was now about 8:00 on Saturday night and we realized we hadn't eaten anything yet. After tossing back and forth a few options for a quick dinner in Havre, we settled on Rod's Drive In.  I'd lived here four years and still hadn't had one of their famed "Ugly Burgers." Our ourder was simple: two Ugly Burgers and two fries. It seemed like a fitting end to an ugly kind of evening.

Messy, greasy, and, well, ugly, but delicious!

We all went straight to bed when we got home. Harvey was struggling a bit to find a way to lie down that was comfortable to him- his swelling had gone into his chest and forearm by now and he was acting like it was quite painful. I had to laugh at him though, even in his pitiful state, because he looked inflated like a cartoon and was obviously very sleepy, but he couldn't figure out how to lay down in a comfortable way. He actually kept falling asleep while sitting and standing up! I've never seen a dog nod off like that before.

The next morning, Harvey's swelling had already gone down some. I was amazed at how much better he seemed already, especially since the last time it took him almost two weeks to cycle through all the inflammation. He clearly felt quite a bit better, too. As I was sitting at the table with my morning coffee, Harvey and I heard the unmistakable whistle of a gopher through the screen door and he was off like a shot! He just HAD to get outside and get that thing!

As soon as I began to unlatch the door, he bolted through it and scurried right to the lilac bush. Then, he pounced right into the middle of it! I heard a scuffle and some frantic gopher whistling and within seconds Harvey had emerged from the bush with a newly-dead gopher hanging out of his mouth! He made one big circle around the yard, with his trophy hanging out of his mouth, showing off his prize. Rattlesnake bite or not, nothing's keeping this guy down for long!