UPDATED Bronx Pit Bull Bitten by Rattlesnake

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Postby Marinepits » July 16th, 2008, 4:58 pm

Holy CRAP! :o

http://www.wnbc.com/news/16900452/detail.html

Pit Bull Fights For Life After Rattlesnake Attack

NEW YORK -- A pit bull was bitten by a rattlesnake around 3 p.m. Tuesday after it stuck its nose in a bush.

Owner Miguel Mota took the pit bull for its afternoon walk in a public park next to the Bronx Zoo when the bite occurred.

Mota rushed the pit bull to NYC Veterinary Specialists, where veterinarian Dr. Ben Davidson gave it two shots of anti-venom.

Davidson said a rattlesnake bite is very rare and that the snake is probably a pet that escaped from a Bronx home.

The dog appears to be stabilized.


http://www.1010wins.com/pages/2608986.p ... Id=2428754

Pit Bull Fighting for Life after Rattlesnake Bite


NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A pit bull is fighting for his life, after being bitten by a rattlesnake in the Bronx Tuesday.

Miguel Mota, the dog's owner, was walking the male pit bull, named "Stone," in a public park near the Bronx Zoo at Boston Road and Bronx Park East when the dog went into the bushes and yelped.

When he came out of the bushes, he was bleeding, and Mota rushed Stone to the Bronx Zoo - and then to several vet hospitals that couldn't deal with a snake bite until he got to the NYC Veterinary Specialists at 55th Street and 9th Avenue in Manhattan.

Dr. Ben Davidson diagnosed the wounds and bites from a rattlesnake, and immediately gave the dog anti-venom - in an effort to save its life.

The dog is still being treated - but will need much more anti-venom, something that is in very short supply in New York. Mota says he can't afford the $4,000 bill racked up so far, and so for now the doctors are paying out of their own pockets.

Mota says he knew it was a rattlesnake, because he saw one on the Discovery Channel, and it's still out there somewhere near the Bronx Zoo.

He says he fears if a child were to have been near the area and gotten bitten.

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Postby HappyChick » July 16th, 2008, 5:22 pm

Wow! I hope they find that snake before it bites someone else. Those vets are wonderful to foot the bills for him.
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Postby iluvk9 » July 16th, 2008, 6:12 pm

:shock: YIKES! Didn't anyone in the snake department notice one was MIA??
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Postby gayrghts » July 16th, 2008, 7:20 pm

They are saying it was owned by someone and escaped from their home.... not from the zoo, but i'd be thinking the zoo as well...

I'd also not think a rattler would do real well up in this neck of the woods.... but who knows...
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Postby Marinepits » July 16th, 2008, 7:26 pm

There are wild timber rattlesnakes all over the state of CT. Hunters run across them all the time in my area.
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Postby nicole » July 17th, 2008, 7:43 am

poor pup! I hope he makes a full recovery.

As far as the snake goes, I can't really see it doing so well in this particular urban area, although I'm sure there is no shortage of rats and hiding spots.
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Postby Marinepits » July 17th, 2008, 8:03 am

Marinepits wrote:in a public park near the Bronx Zoo at Boston Road and Bronx Park East


This area is quite "wild" for NYC and there is plenty of food and snake-appropriate habitat for a rattler. These snakes are indigenous to the area as well.

Here's an update:

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?secti ... id=6268769

BRONX (WABC) -- There's a rattlesnake on the loose in the Bronx.
Where it came from is still unclear but Miguel Mota of Pelham Parkway knows it's out there because it bit his dog.

Mota's beloved dog Stone should make a complete recovery. The 4-year-old pit bull remains sedated and carefully monitored by the doctors and nurses at the NYC Veterinary Specialists in midtown.
Dr.s say the bite was most likely on one sides of Stone's body because that's where most of the swelling is.

Around 4 p.m. On Tuesday afternoon, Mota brought Stone for a routine walk in a wooded area near the Bronx Zoo when the 31-year-old security guard heard his dog yelp and he knew something was wrong.

"And I'm like, come over here. So when I came I saw a little drop of blood coming out. And when I touch it, he cried again and my dog never cries," said Mota.

He then moved in to see what bit Stone and that's when he saw a snake slithering away. A quick look back at Stone revealed the snake was certainly venomous, a rattler.

Mota adds, "And that's when his body started changing. He started drooling and getting slower. And I'm like, what's going on? That's how I knew, a venomous snake."

In a mad dash for anti-venom, Mota struck out. First at two nearby veterinarians, then a hospital and then the Bronx Zoo. He finally landed at the NYC Veterinary Specialists where doctors quickly administered two doses and saved Stone's life.

"The more time the venom has to be in the body, the more damage it's going to do. So the anti-venom is there to neutralize the snake's venom in the bloodstream and reduce its effects on the body," said Dr. Benjamin Davidson.

Stone is resting comfortably as authorities continue to look for the snake.

The NYC Veterinary Specialists had the hard to find anti-venom in part because of its relationship with centers in Florida, where rattlesnakes are much more common.

The doctors and a charitable fund will pick up the tab for the anti-venom, which costs about $1,000 per dose.

STORY BY: Eyewitness News reporter Joe Torres


Video and photos on weblink

And if anyone wishes to thank NYC Veterinary Specialists for their hard work and very generous donations: http://www.nyc-vs.com/
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