It was a warm June morning and Ruby the Boxer was fetching her ball near her Airbnb in Bigbury, whilst on holiday from Wiltshire. She suddenly jumped up with all four feet in the air and returned to her owner with blood on her face. Her owners went to see what had startled Ruby and found an adder.

They took her immediately to the closest South Moor Vets branch in Modbury, where she was triaged by our nurses Briony and Beth, and examined by vet Jonathan.

She had a high heart rate when examined and her mucous membranes were congested (redder than they should be), suggesting that she could be showing signs of shock. She had also started to develop a significant swelling to the right side of her face.

Ruby was brought to the Kingsbridge branch for her treatment as we are lucky enough to keep adder anti-venom in stock here and in Ivybridge for these occasions.

Unfortunately, we do frequently see dogs presenting with adder bites due to the geography of the area - coast paths and Dartmoor being particularly high risks places. Recently an owner in Kingsbridge even saw one in the middle of the town.

Dog are usually bitten on a limb or on the head and the affected area becomes swollen and painful; the dog often develops lethargy. Signs of envenomation (injection of toxin/poison by a bite) tend to occur within minutes to hours. Some dogs develop systemic signs, as with Ruby, and occasionally adder bites can be fatal.

Adder bites can cause a drop in blood pressure which can be dangerous, so Ruby’s blood pressure was checked on arrival at Kingsbridge. In severe cases dogs can develop renal or liver failure, bleeding disorders, anaemia, heart arrhythmias and heart failure.

Ruby had an intravenous (IV) cannula placed so that we could administer the anti-venom (this has to be done slowly in case of anaphylactic shock), IV fluids and pain relief.

The prognosis with adder bites is good when only local envenomation has occurred, but is more serious with systemic envenomation. The size of dog and location of the bite affects prognosis, with bites to the head being worse.

Prompt treatment improves prognosis and decreases the likelihood of skin sloughing, which can particularly occur on legs. Despite her swelling remaining overnight and spreading down her neck, Ruby was stable enough to go home the following day, much to the relief of her understandably concerned owners.

Ruby’s story is a salient reminder to us all to be extra vigilant when walking our dogs, avoiding high risk areas during spring/summer months (we have seen adder bites as early as April), and keeping dogs on leads when this is not possible.

If you suspect that your dog has been bitten by an adder please get in contact with a local vet practice immediately. Keep your pet quiet and ideally do not let them use the affected limb or move too much, as this can increase the chance of spreading venom around the body.

Please do not handle or harm the snake – they are a protected species and it is illegal to injure or kill them, but if you can get a photo safely it could be useful to confirm if it was an adder.