‘It was like losing a kid’: Dead dog owner’s warning
A South Morang woman whose beloved pooch died after being bitten by a tiger snake in her backyard has warned animal owners to be vigilant ahead of summer. It comes after a spate of close calls for peoples’ pets in Melbourne’s north.
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Residents in Melbourne’s north are warning pet owners about the dangers of snakes as hot weather brings the reptiles out of hibernation.
A number of incidents have been reported on Facebook pages over the past week, with one case nearly ending in tragedy when a pet dog was bitten by a tiger snake near South Morang.
But another South Morang resident’s dog wasn’t as lucky and sadly passed away after being bitten by a tiger snake.
Cassie Stubbs said she wanted to share her story ahead of snake season to warn other pet owners of the danger snakes presented after her dog Bonnie died in January.
“It’s a really sad story for us because our dog died,” Cassie Stubbs said.
“I woke up in the morning and the dog wasn’t in the alfresco area where she normally is, but I thought something was wrong when I saw she had pooed on the deck.
“I called her name and she wasn’t coming, which was very unusual.
“I went for a walk and saw her on the ground and she wasn’t moving and had foam coming out of her mouth with a bit of blood.”
Ms Stubbs said as soon as she approached Bonnie, her staffie, she knew she was dead.
“I had to get my eight-year-old to help me pick her up off the ground, it was horrendous,” she said.
“My partner got up at 5.30am and Bonnie was still alive, so the incident must have happened between then and when I got up at 8.30am.
“We both blame ourselves for her death because if she had have been inside it wouldn’t have happened, but she was an indoor and outdoor dog.”
Ms Stubbs said there wasn’t a day that went by without her thinking about the day she lost Bonnie, which she described “like losing a kid”.
“She saved us on a few occasions, barking out when there was a snake,” Ms Stubbs said.
“I have young children so you worry for them, but I am sure Bonnie saved us a number of times.”
Another resident, who wished not to be named, said her cat had been bitten by a tiger snake at their South Morang property.
The pet owner said she was sitting inside when she heard a chilling scream.
“It was like a horror movie, it was awful,” she said.
“I went outside but couldn’t see anything, so I thought he had just stepped on something and the following day he didn’t present any symptoms, so I let it go thinking it was just a fright.”
But four hours after the scream, the cat could barely walk, so it was taken to the vet.
“He had to get a blood test and that showed he had been bitten by a tiger snake, so had antivenene and was in the vets for 10 days,” the pet owner said.
“The vet said it was the worst case they had ever seen.”
However, had the cat not been taken to the vet that night it’s unlikely it would have lived, prompting a warning for other pet owners in the area.
“Just get them to vet as soon as possible if you think your pet has been bitten by a snake, and if you see the snake take a photo of it to show the vet and snake catcher,” the pet owner said.
“It’s far better to be safe than sorry.”
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Information provided by the RSPCA says the most common snakes to bite pets are tiger and brown and can be fatal.
• Sudden weakness followed by collapse
• Shaking or twitching of the muscles and difficulty blinking