Dog owner urges caution after pet bitten by adder

Malcolm the Labrador is on the mend after he was bitten by a snake

A dog owner has urged others to be vigilant when walking their pets after her Labrador was bitten by a snake.

Sam Mawer was walking three-year-old Malcolm on moorland above the North Yorkshire village of Egton, near Whitby, when he was bitten on 5 August.

Mrs Mawer said her dog became dazed and its face began to swell up after the incident so she rushed him to a nearby vets for treatment.

"What scares me is that if I hadn't have seen the snake and what happened I wouldn't have known he had been bitten," the 55-year-old added.

Mrs Mawer had been walking Malcolm on moorland when he was bitten

Mrs Mawer, from Egton, said she had stopped to take a photo of the adder - the UK's only venomous snake - moments before Malcolm was bitten.

"It only looked like it was the tail end of the snake that moved, so I wasn't 100% sure.

"Malcolm didn't yelp, he didn't bark."

When the pair got back to the car, Mrs Mawer noticed Malcom retching.

"After the 10-minute drive home he was really dazed, just stood there.

"When we offered him something to eat he just didn't take it, at which point we knew something was wrong. By the time we got to the vets his face was swelling up."

'It can be lethal'

Dr Simon Beck, from the Beck Vetinary Practice where Malcolm was treated, said the practice saw adder bites about once a fortnight during summer months.

"It can be lethal if you don't get them treated quickly," he said.

"If a dog is bitten you need to get it straight back to your car and get it to a vet.

"If dog owners want to be low risk then they are better to take the dogs out in areas where there isn't moorland or heather."

Adders, like the one which bit Malcolm, are most active from spring to October

Mrs Mawer said Malcolm had made a full recovery since the incident, but said the experience had taught her two things.

"Don't stop to take a photo and if you see your dogs behaviour change after you have been on the moors, or if they are just acting unusually, seriously think about whether they have been bitten by an adder," she said.

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