Corio snake catcher calls for caution after family pet dies after bite

A Geelong family has said goodbye to a beloved pet after it was bitten by a snake on Christmas Eve.

Greg Macpherson with pet rottweiler Rayne and his daughter Taylor, who holds an image of their other dog Thunder who died of a snake bite on Christmas Eve. Picture: Mark Wilson

A Corio family has said goodbye to their beloved pet dog after it died on Christmas Eve after being bitten by a snake.

Greg Macpherson was working on December 24 before he and his daughter, Taylor, returned home about 1pm to find one of their dogs – a rottweiler named Thunder – lying still outside.

“All the grass had been pushed down and two palings were ripped off the fence so he was obviously after something,” he said.

“A snake had been sighted two houses away in the days before, so I was under no illusions what had happened.”

Mr Macpherson works as a snake catcher and said he knew the signs that indicated a snake bite.

Greg Macpherson and his daughter Taylor have been left shattered after their pet rottweiler Thunder died of a snake bite. Rottweiler Rayne is their other pet dog. Picture: Mark Wilson.

“I’ve tipped our place upside down and the neighbours were good and let me go through their property too, so I was looking under airconditioning units, hot water services, tiles and sheds but no sign of it as yet,” he said.

“I’d say the snake would probably be injured and depends, it’s either gone away to die or if it’s not severely injured, it’s going to be very agitated.

“Unfortunately if we had been home we could have rushed him (Thunder) to the vet to maybe give him a chance.

“Vet to Pet in Lara were good, they came straight away because I didn’t know what I was going to do with him.”

Mr Macpherson said Thunder would have turned seven years old on Boxing Day and his death had hit Taylor hard.

“She is shattered,” he said.

“But snakes are part of our ecosystem, we do need them because without them we’d have an explosion of rats and mice.

“I said to my family, they all know what I do and I don’t hate snakes and they shouldn’t either even though its taken away the dog.

Greg Macpherson and his daughter Taylor's pet rottweiler Thunder died of a snake bite on Christmas Eve. Picture: Mark Wilson.

“It’s no good to be angry against the snakes, they just defend themselves as they have no arms and legs.”

Mr Macpherson said he most often saw tiger snakes around Geelong, which are the fourth most venomous snake in the world.

“It can happen to anyone and snakes are not to be mucked around with,” he said.

“People should be aware that they are in suburban streets and even houses.

“The best we can do is keep our yards tidy, lawns clipped, keep wood stacked away from houses and elevated and keep rodent populations under control.

“If you have pets it’s best to keep their water bowls away from the house too because snakes will smell water from 500m away and come for a drink so you want them doing that away from a house.”

Originally published as Corio snake catcher calls for caution after family pet dies after bite