INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN (Ontario, California) 26 June 05 Man lucky after venomless bite - Snake attacks Chino Hills man in yard (Jannise Johnson)
Chino Hills: Although it could be called beginner's luck, a 21-year-old Chino Hills man hopes not to repeat a gardening incident that landed him in an emergency room Saturday afternoon.
Robert Piluso was bitten by a Western Diamond Back rattlesnake Saturday as he pulled weeds near an iris patch in his parents' backyard, he said.
"I was reaching down and pulling a weed," Piluso explained Sunday afternoon. "And then I felt a little sting, so I pulled my hand back real fast and then I heard a rattle."
Luckily, though, the snake didn't release any of its potentially deadly venom into his body.
Piluso wasn't overly concerned when he saw the snake, but his mother immediately called 911, he said.
Snake-bite experts warn snake-bite victims not to panic excitement forces the blood to pump quickly, thereby forcing the venom through the body that much faster.
Knowing this, Piluso stayed calm, even when the wound on his left wrist turned a little blue.
San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies with the Chino Hills station responded to the snake bite call at the home in the 14000 block of Pleasant Hill Drive sometime after noon, Sgt. Mike Kleczko said.
"The snake didn't rattle, it just bit him real fast," Kleczko said.
Deputies notified animal control, he said. Once a female officer wrangled the snake and had it contained, it was transported to the Chino Hills Sheriff's station where it was identified as a Western Diamond Back, Kleczko said.
That information was relayed to Loma Linda where physicians attended to Piluso's wound.
After an hour of observation and a dose of antivenin, the swelling around his bite began to recede, Piluso said. It was then physicians realized he suffered a dry snake bite. Dry bites or bites in which no venom is released occur in a small percentage of snake-bite victims, Piluso said.
Piluso spent three hours in the emergency room and he guessed another seven or eight in an observation room. He was back home by Saturday evening.
The 21-year-old was informed the percentage of dry bites was 4 percent; however, information from the California Department of Fish and Game Web site states that about 25 percent of rattlesnake bites are dry.
Regardless of the percentages, Piluso said the incident made him more cautious.
"I'm going to look before I pull any weeds," he said. "The snake was exactly the color of the dirt. You have to be aware of the environment."
In accordance with the law, the snake was later released within four miles of where the incident occurred, Kleczko said.
If bitten by a snake, The California Poison Control Center advises victims to stay calm. Wash the bite area gently with soap and water. Remove watches, rings and any other jewelry which may constrict swelling in the body and get immediately to the nearest hospital.
Man lucky after venomless bite