BEXLEY TIMES (UK) 11 August 06 That adder hurt!

A Collie owner whose beloved pet was left limping and howling after a snake bite is warning other dog walkers to tread carefully.

Linda Saunders of Mayplace Close, Bexleyheath was horrified when Molly returned from a run around Martens Grove Park clearly distressed and in pain.

She took her dog to a nearby vet where an x-ray showed the Collie had a broken foot. Molly was prescribed penicillin but nearly three months later, she had not improved.

Mrs Saunders said: "Molly is a very bright girl. In all her training she's been top of the class. She was going nuts not being able to go outside because of her sore paw. She was bored and wondering what to do, it was a very miserable time for her."

Last month, concerned by Molly's change in temperament, Mrs Saunders took her to see Mark Davis, a vet at North Kent Referrals, on Wednesday, July 26.

Taking a swab from the damaged paw, the vet discovered Molly had been bitten by an adder 11 weeks earlier. The delay has caused a benign tumour to grow in the collie's foot.

Mrs Saunders added: "She's got a low level tumour on her foot, which is not life threatening. She's as chirpy as ever again, happy to be outside and chasing after balls."

Adder snakes are the only venomous snakes in Britain, but they rarely bite unless they are picked up or stepped on.

Their poison is not usually life threatening in humans, but can kill smaller animals.

A spokesman for Bexley council said: "Experts from the Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group (KRAG) will be visiting Martens Grove Park to further investigate. Given the nature of the habitat at Martens Grove, it was always thought that it would be extremely unlikely that an active population of adders was there, as this small and isolated site could not easily support these animals over a sustained period of time.

"The council has not received any other confirmed reports of snake bites or adder sightings at Martens Grove.



http://www.bexleytimes.co.uk/content/bexley/times/news/story.aspx?brand=BXYOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsbxy&itemid=WeED11 Aug 2006 14:43:09:920

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