Dog killed by snake on Cannock Chase
Poisonous snakes have bitten dogs – killing one of them – in two horrific attacks on one owner's pets at a Staffordshire beauty spot.
Ken Birch, aged 59, believes his six-year-old Springer Spaniel, Woody, was bitten on the tongue while running through heather on Cannock Chase.
After noticing the dog falling behind as they returned to his car, Mr Birch took him to the vets – but his pet could not be saved and died within a few hours.
The dog was bitten near the German cemetery, between Brocton and Hednesford.
Five days later, a half a mile away on the Chase, his other Springer Spaniel was bitten. This time veterinary staff were able to treat him successfully.
Mr Birch, of Old Croft Road, Walton-on-the-Hill, said: "With Woody there was no squeal or indication anything was wrong.
"The first thing I noticed was his lethargy, which is very unlike him. When I lifted him into the back of my car his legs went from under him."
Woody, who Mr Birch saved from a wood yard aged one, was struck on the tongue by the adder on August 21.
The venom was able to enter his bloodstream directly resulting in major organ failure. Mr Birch's other dog, Billy, 18 months, was bitten on the side of his mouth and was successfully treated with intravenous fluids, antihistamines and anti inflammatory.
Mr Birch added: "This serves as a warning really. We need to keep our dogs on their leads or walking close by to the tracks.
"The heather and the undergrowth may contain snakes, which may have young with them. It is important that people are able to recognise the signs and symptoms, in order that they can get help through their vet."
The main symptoms of an adder bite include loss of mobility, foaming at the mouth and tell-tale puncture marks, which are around 1cm wide.
Mr Birch has found comfort in the fact that Woody died doing what he loved most – running on the Chase. And the ordeal has not put him off visiting.
"It has not put me off going there at all," he said. "The only thing it has made me more wary of is keeping the dog close to me on the pathways.
"That is opposed to letting them run in the heather. That will prevail until the autumn by which time the snakes will hibernate."
