A family dog has had to be put down after being bitten by an adder in my hometown of Bolton.
Ted, an 11-year-old bearded collie, was walking in Smithills Country Park, near to the 15th century manor house Smithills Hall, when he was bitten by the adder.
Ted was put down on Saturday after suffering kidney failure and now his heartbroken owner is warning other dog owners to beware when using parks in the area.
The adder, also known as the viper, is the only one of Britain's three snake species which is venomous.
Adders are found all over the world except in Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland (there are, famously, no wild snakes at all in Ireland), Madagascar, Hawaii, various other isolated islands, and north of the Arctic Circle.
Family's beloved pet dog Ted killed after being bitten by an ADDER while on a walk at a country park
By Daily Mail Reporter21 August 2013
Daily Mail
A beloved pet dog has been killed after being bitten by a snake in a country park.
Ted, an 11-year-old bearded collie, was put down after suffering kidney failure caused by the adder bite on his front left leg while on a walk with his owner Pauline O’Brien, 67.
The vet who treated Ted said it was the first time in her career of 26 years that she had seen a pet killed by a snake bite.
Snakebite: A family photo of Ted, the 11-year-old bearded collie who had to be put down after he was bitten by a snake while on a walk in a park in Bolton, Greater Manchester, and went down with kidney failure
Adders are the only venomous snakes found in the wild in Britain and will normally only attack if they feel threatened.
It is thought the adder may have bitten Ted because it was afraid it was about to be trodden on by the dog.
Pauline, a divorced mum-of-one and a mobile hairdresser from Bolton, Greater Manchester, is now warning other dog owners to beware when using parks in the area.
She had had Ted since he was a puppy.
'Like losing part of the family': Ted's owner Pauline O'Brien, 67, had him since he was a puppy and has been left distraught by his death
The incident happened at Smithills Country Park in Bolton.
Ted was bitten near the historic Smithills Coaching House and it was not until the day after, when he started limping badly, that he was taken to the vets and the adder bite was spotted under his long hair.
Ted suffered from arthritis so his difficulty walking was not initially thought to be a cause for concern. But when the swollen leg was shaved the bite was discovered.
He was bitten four weeks ago but his condition deteriorated, eventually suffering kidney failure, and he died on Saturday when he was put down by vets.
She said: 'We were just walking around and he was off his lead and he was going in the long grass, I think that must be where it happened.
'It is very long grass and he is a bit clumsy, I think he had probably stood on the adder.
'When we got home I noticed that he was limping, I thought it was his arthritis but his leg had really swollen up.
'I took him to the vets and she initially thought that he had broken his leg but after the X-ray she called and said that it wasn’t broken.
'When she shaved all his hair she saw the two horizontal bite marks and she thought he had been bitten by an adder.
'Obviously what has happened is the poison had caused him to have kidney failure. At first the vet gave him penicillin, antibiotics and anti inflammatory but he was being sick after the medications.
'It was very serious and the vet had to give him injections because he wasn’t eating and then he was put on a drip.
'It was heartbreaking to see him like that, he couldn’t even get up the stairs he was that frail. I just looked at him and I thought he can’t go on any longer.
Read more: Family's pet dog Ted killed after being bitten by an ADDER while on a walk at a country park | Mail Online
Ted, an 11-year-old bearded collie, was walking in Smithills Country Park, near to the 15th century manor house Smithills Hall, when he was bitten by the adder.
Ted was put down on Saturday after suffering kidney failure and now his heartbroken owner is warning other dog owners to beware when using parks in the area.
The adder, also known as the viper, is the only one of Britain's three snake species which is venomous.
Adders are found all over the world except in Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland (there are, famously, no wild snakes at all in Ireland), Madagascar, Hawaii, various other isolated islands, and north of the Arctic Circle.
Family's beloved pet dog Ted killed after being bitten by an ADDER while on a walk at a country park
- The bearded collie, 11, was put down after suffering kidney failure
- He was bitten while on a walk in the park in Bolton, Greater Manchester
- Adders are the UK's only venomous snakes and only attack if feel threatened
By Daily Mail Reporter21 August 2013
Daily Mail
A beloved pet dog has been killed after being bitten by a snake in a country park.
Ted, an 11-year-old bearded collie, was put down after suffering kidney failure caused by the adder bite on his front left leg while on a walk with his owner Pauline O’Brien, 67.
The vet who treated Ted said it was the first time in her career of 26 years that she had seen a pet killed by a snake bite.
Snakebite: A family photo of Ted, the 11-year-old bearded collie who had to be put down after he was bitten by a snake while on a walk in a park in Bolton, Greater Manchester, and went down with kidney failure
Adders are the only venomous snakes found in the wild in Britain and will normally only attack if they feel threatened.
It is thought the adder may have bitten Ted because it was afraid it was about to be trodden on by the dog.
Pauline, a divorced mum-of-one and a mobile hairdresser from Bolton, Greater Manchester, is now warning other dog owners to beware when using parks in the area.
She had had Ted since he was a puppy.
'Like losing part of the family': Ted's owner Pauline O'Brien, 67, had him since he was a puppy and has been left distraught by his death
The incident happened at Smithills Country Park in Bolton.
Ted was bitten near the historic Smithills Coaching House and it was not until the day after, when he started limping badly, that he was taken to the vets and the adder bite was spotted under his long hair.
Ted suffered from arthritis so his difficulty walking was not initially thought to be a cause for concern. But when the swollen leg was shaved the bite was discovered.
He was bitten four weeks ago but his condition deteriorated, eventually suffering kidney failure, and he died on Saturday when he was put down by vets.
She said: 'We were just walking around and he was off his lead and he was going in the long grass, I think that must be where it happened.
'It is very long grass and he is a bit clumsy, I think he had probably stood on the adder.
'When we got home I noticed that he was limping, I thought it was his arthritis but his leg had really swollen up.
'I took him to the vets and she initially thought that he had broken his leg but after the X-ray she called and said that it wasn’t broken.
'When she shaved all his hair she saw the two horizontal bite marks and she thought he had been bitten by an adder.
'Obviously what has happened is the poison had caused him to have kidney failure. At first the vet gave him penicillin, antibiotics and anti inflammatory but he was being sick after the medications.
'It was very serious and the vet had to give him injections because he wasn’t eating and then he was put on a drip.
'It was heartbreaking to see him like that, he couldn’t even get up the stairs he was that frail. I just looked at him and I thought he can’t go on any longer.
Read more: Family's pet dog Ted killed after being bitten by an ADDER while on a walk at a country park | Mail Online
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