Woman bitten by deadly snake as she tried pulling it from dog’s mouth in Australia
Dogs are driven to taste ridiculous things, but one pup’s decision to sample a snake ended with its owner in an Australia hospital.
The small reptile was, in fact, “the second most venomous land snake in the world,” and it bit the owner as she tried pulling it from her dog’s mouth, Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers reports.
It happened Monday, May 23, in Queensland on Australia’s northeast coast, and the woman survived after a night in the hospital, the company wrote on Facebook. Her identity was not revealed.
“We were called out to a home late yesterday afternoon (May 23) for a snake that a lady had grabbed out of her dog’s mouth and put in a jar,” the company wrote.
“In the process of taking the snake out of her dog’s mouth she was bitten on the thumb. They weren’t sure what kind of snake it was, so the dad gave me a call and sent me ... a photo immediately. It turned out to be a baby eastern brown snake. ... I told them to call an ambulance.”
Venomous eastern brown snakes are a “nervous species” known to “react defensively if surprised or cornered, putting on a fierce display and striking with little hesitation,” according to the Australian Museum.
Their teeth are small, making bites painless and “often difficult to detect.” However, the powerful venom can be fatal, resulting “in progressive paralysis and uncontrollable bleeding,” the museum reports.
Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers did not report if the dog had also been bitten.
The woman’s father said they thought it was a harmless “green tree snake,” and took no precautions when removing the snake, Sunshine Coast reported.
“She was taken to hospital and kept in overnight whilst they took several blood test and monitored her condition. Thankfully she was all good and released this morning (May 24),” the company reported.
This story was originally published May 25, 2022 at 7:38 AM with the headline "Woman bitten by deadly snake as she tried pulling it from dog’s mouth in Australia."