Rattlesnake Bite Brings Our Bird Hunting to a Sudden Halt...

...hopefully not permanent but I must say right now this ol' boy's heart just ain't in it...For some I suppose such incidents are but a bump in the road for us it's a nightmare we hoped would never happen...But when you think about it 50 plus years of runnin' bird dogs in snake country I suppose it's a nightmare just waiting to happen. But the way this wreck occurred makes you wonder just what the hell I did to anger the hunting gods...Thursday morning dawned cold, around 20 degrees in Dillon...up Freezeout Lake who knows but the forecast for later was for cloudy skies, chilly north wind and temps in the low to mid 50s...Not exactly the sort of weather one would expect to run into a rattler, at least not one warm enough to do much harm. But 10 minutes into the hunt and no more than 40 yards from open water not at all the sort of place one expects to run into rattlers especially in late October given no rattler in its right mind would den that close to lake in low grass, not a rock in sight...Damn what the hell was it doin' there in the first beginning is a mystery I will no doubt never know the answer and will probably take to my grave wondering...Anyway Annie was hot on the trail of rooster, apparently passed too close and came out of it on three legs in great pain and no doubt wondering as I what the hell...since there was no warning buzz, nothing just a hurt for certain dog and a goddamn worried pair geezers...

The snake hit her with just one fang between the toes. At first there was no swelling, as I say no indication what the hell, but by the time we got her to a vet (in Choteau 12 miles up the road) the foot and leg were swollen big time and poor Annie was by then really hurtin' Because we could not be certain what had happened (no snake in hand) the vet put her on a powerful pain killer and two antibiotics...And hoping for the best as you can imagine we spent a restless night in the camper but come morning the swelling and bruising was much worse so on her advice we headed to Dillon hoping our vet would know and...She took one look and said nothing else but so here we are...

As you can see the damage is extensive, the worry of course is should the skin crack the healing process will no doubt be long and painful...Hoping to nix that we are bathing the leg in warm water every couple hours doing our damnedest to keep her from standing around (apparently the pain is such she is reluctant to sit or lay down) and instead lying down...so far we have not been all that successful. Another worry is the venom could destroy the coagulation properties in her blood and what that means is more than I can say but am sure it ain't good...Vet is supposed to let us know anytime so...Whatever I'd be surprised if we do any more bird hunting this season...But if all turns out OK then of course would be a small price to pay and one we'll gladly ante up...