A mother has cautioned dog walkers to be watchful of snakes after her family’s golden retriever had to be saved with expensive anti-venom following an adder bite to the throat. Beth Lyons-Carr, 27, from Birtley, Gateshead, decided to make the most of the sunshine this month by going on a countryside walk with her partner, Jordan Houston, 27, their three young children and their dogs – golden retriever Narla and German shepherd cross Brodie.
The day started out “lovely” but the family soon noticed two-year-old Narla was captivated by something in the grass from which she suddenly “jumped back”. Spotting the serpent in the grass the family initially thought it was a grass snake and Jordan pulled out his phone to film it as it slithered away – but just minutes later, Narla began “frothing at the mouth” and “swaying”. Rushing to an animal hospital in the area, it was discovered Narla had been bitten in the throat by an adder which was causing swelling to her face and neck – leaving Beth and Jordan’s boys Joey, seven, and Taylor, four, in tears alongside five-month-old Mollie.
She was treated with anti-venom and allowed to return home to her worried family the following day but they have been left struggling to pay the resulting £2,500 vet bill – prompting a relative to set up a GoFundMe page to help them.
“The boys were crying their eyes out thinking she was going to die, it was absolutely horrible,” Beth told PA Real Life.
“What scares me is the fact my sons were walking through the grass, they had their hands in the grass.
“We never thought we could get adders in this country and I feel like a lot of people don’t know – it would be great if this could raise awareness.”
The adder is the UK’s only venomous snake and while the likelihood of being bitten by one is extremely small, some people and pets are bitten each year, according to Amphibian and Reptile Conservation.
Human deaths are exceptionally rare, with only 14 recorded deaths from an adder bite in the UK since 1876.
Beth explained that on March 8 she and her family decided to make the most of the sunny weather by taking a countryside walk to a spot named Pine Woods a short drive from their home.
Beth said they were enjoying the “lovely” outing but after around half an hour, they came across a snake.
“It was Narla who saw it first, she was looking in the grass at something,” Beth said. “We went over to have a little look and all of a sudden, she jumped back. At first, we thought it was a grass snake – the boys were over the moon and Jordan got out his phone and started recording it.”
Beth said the snake soon slithered away and it was only minutes later when Narla started “frothing at the mouth”.
“She was struggling to stand up, she was swaying, it was like she could have fallen over,” she said. “She came over to me and laid across the tops of my feet. It sounded like she was going to be sick and we knew something wasn’t right. The only thing I could think was it had to be the snake.”
Beth said she immediately called her grandfather, who she did not wish to name but described as someone who “knows everything”.
He suggested the family could have stumbled across an adder, advising they take Narla to a vet straight away.
“The boys were asking if she was going to die, we couldn’t give them an answer because we didn’t know what was going to happen,” Beth said. “She was really frothing at the mouth and she started really swelling up.”
Beth said she rang a vet, who advised the family to visit Moorview Referrals, an animal hospital, as that was the only place close by which would have anti-venom.
On the way there, the family were forced to stop at another vet clinic who helped to stabilise Narla for the journey on.
“When we finally got to Moorview Referrals, she really wasn’t good,” Beth said.
“They had to give her the anti-venom really quickly, she probably would have died without treatment.”
Narla received around 24 hours of care and the family bought her home the following day.
She had a follow-up appointment two days later, in which Beth said the animal hospital was “happy” with her progress.
“She’s more or less back to her normal self now but she’s still got a bit of swelling which has dropped down on to her chest,” she said.
Her children have now removed the snake teddy bears on their bed and her eldest son, Joey, still finds the ordeal “emotional”.
“He keeps saying he’s really glad Narla didn’t die, it’s quite heart-breaking,” she said.
The family were billed £2,500 in total for Narla’s care which they had to borrow from other family members in order to pay, and which they now need to give back.
A relative has set up a GoFundMe page to help support the family with some of the costs, raising over £300 so far.
“We don’t have this kind of money but you would do anything for your dog, they are your babies, aren’t they,” Beth said.
