20 April 2023 , 10:41
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A dog owner has sent an urgent warning to others after a poisonous snake bit her pooch's face at a beauty spot in Scotland.
Mahri and Colin Paterson, from Galston in East Ayrshire, Scotland, were walking with their two Vizslas, six-year-old Kaia and five-year-old Bree, on the Isle of Arran.
During their walk, the couple spotted two Adders - the UK's only venomous snake - and just 30 minutes after, Kaia was taken unwell, reports the Daily Record.
Within minutes, the dog started retching and was "unable to move" with the venom taking over her body and leaving her in "severe pain".
The couple then noticed two fang marks on her muzzle and immediately called the nearest vet.
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Mahri and Colin spotted two Adders before Kaia was bitten (Ayrshire Live WS)Colin had to carry Kaia for one mile until they were given a lift to the vet by a couple who rushed to help them.
The dog was given anti-venom and is now recovering, but her condition is still not great, so she needs to rest at home, Kaia's owner said.
Following the incident, Mahri wants to warn other dog owners about the dangerous snakes.
Posting on Facebook, she said: "I wasn't going to post on our personal pages but after quite a few comments on the Vizsla page that I posted on we were surprised at how many people didn't know we had venomous snakes in Britain.
Fang marks could be spotted on Kaia's muzzle (Ayrshire Live WS)
The dog was left in severe pain after being bitten by a snake (Ayrshire Live WS)"Please please make yourselves aware of the dangers of a snake bite and what to do if it happens.
"Unfortunately on Saturday when we were walking up Glen Rosa in Arran Kaia was bitten on the face by an Adder, we didn't see it happening but had seen two snakes on the path.
"Within 30 minutes her walk started to slow down, she then started retching but couldn't be sick and that's when we noticed the fang marks on the side of her muzzle we tried to encourage her to drink but she couldn't and she then lay down and couldn't move.
"The vet later told me this was all due to the severe pain she was in as the venom started to spread through her bloodstream."
Kaia was left with haemorrhaging inside her gums (Ayrshire Live WS)She added: "I called the vet to check if she had any Anti-venom which thankfully she did and we were heading her way as quickly as possible.
"We knew not to touch the wound and we had to keep her as calm as possible so Colin had to lift her and carry her over a mile to the car of a couple who live on the island that offered to help, they then ran me straight to the vets who was waiting on me with the anti-venom that she needed.
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"She spent the next couple of hours in the surgery on a drip getting anti-venom, pain killers and fluids put into her.
"Thankfully she is recovering well but she is still a sick girl so has to stay home for the next week with strict instructions to rest."
Mahri has since thanked the couple and vets for helping deal with an emergency situation.
She described the incident as "very serious" and said the vet was "amazing" with Kaia.