Watch out for poisonous snakes

I thought that I would post my annual reminder to watch out for poisonous snakes this time of year. The weather is getting warm enough for copperheads to come out to sun. Some of you may recall that Charlie was bitten on the ankle by a copperhead in April 2006. It's his foot in the photo above. It was a painful bite and kept him in the hospital for a couple of days. Luckily, he suffered no renal problems from the venom.

While dogs do better than humans, venom from a rattlesnake can kill a young dog or puppy. We have put up fine mesh wire around all of our paddocks hoping to keep the snakes out. There are a number of venomous snakes on Wadmalaw. When I see one, I move it if I can to another location; however, all bets are off if one is in with the dogs. They have a peculiar bark that indicates to us that a snake is around. We like to see corn snakes, rat snakes, black snakes, king snakes, hog nose snakes, and all the other snakes that pose no threat to the dogs (or humans). We are careful now when we go out after dark and keep the dogs away from the edges of the woods when we walk them. Charlie also wears boots when he goes out in the evening or early morning. Be aware and take care!