Dog on the mend after rattlesnake bite

Rachel Saurer
·2 min read
4

AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — As the weather warms, it’s a Colorado tradition to get outside with your dog and enjoy nature. But for a couple in Aurora, a nice day outside was turned upside down in an instant.

Nicholas Cooper and his wife Rachel were walking in an open space near Olympic Park. It was a sunny Sunday, and they were enjoying the moment with their two dogs, Sadie and Cookie.

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When Cookie went sniffing around a bush, neither one thought anything of it — until they heard the telltale rattling.

“Right before you heard the rattle, we heard Cookie yelp, then she jumps and kind of sprints away and, you know, after investigating we can clearly hear the rattle,” Nicholas said.

The snake had bitten Cookie near the eye and on the snout.

“We inspected the dog. We didn’t really see anything until we saw a … little almost like olive oil but something like that kind of dripping from her right … millimeters from her eyeball.”

Since it was Sunday, it took the two a while to hunt down an open clinic. Once they found one that was open and had anti-venom, they got Cookie checked in, and the dog had to spend several days receiving several transfusions and multiple vials of anti-venom.

After everything, she was left with bruising and swelling all over her face.

Image shows a black and white dog recovering from a snake bite.
Image shows a black and white dog recovering from a snake bite.

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She was discharged that Tuesday and transferred to an animal hospital in Fort Collins, which had a hyperbaric chamber for animals. It drastically decreased the swelling and recovery time for her, and a short while later she was able to go home, where she was smothered in love and affection.

“Now, she’s back to wanting to go chase squirrels, bark at the Amazon delivery driver, you know, fully on watch protecting her family,” Nicholas said.

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The road to recovery is still ongoing as the owners now work to pay off the medical bills. They began a GoFundMe to help with the costs with a goal of $6,200.

If they exceed that goal, the owners said they will donate what’s left to an animal shelter.

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