Deadly Snake Bites Pet Dog After Slithering Into Home Backyard, Owner Issues Warning

A pet dog was bitten by a deadly snake in the backyard of a home in Australia over the weekend. But the dog owner's quick actions saved its life.

Emily Usherwood was looking for her two dogs, Echo and Bandit, to give them food but only one of them turned up. She suspected something was wrong with the other dog.

"I ran outside looking for him because that wasn't normal for him to not come when called," Usherwood, from Townsville, told Yahoo News Australia. "I found him in the darkness of the yard walking very slowly towards me, he just looked so weak, he couldn't even keep his head up while walking to me."

The dog collapsed by the time it reached near Usherwood. The owner said the dog's breathing was shallow and he was salivating. Usherwood, who earlier worked with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, gave the animal first aid.

"I knew the symptoms he was showing, it was some kind of snakebite or possibly he was poisoned, either way I knew I had to get him to a vet," she said.

Usherwood and her fiancé rushed Bandit to the nearest vet.

"The whole way to the vet he just looked so lifeless, I thought he was going to die, I just kept talking to him to let him know that I was there," Userhwood recounted, adding that the dog was given anti-venom at the clinic.

"I just knew that it was a snake, it was my gut feeling, and I didn't want to waste any time," she explained.

Later, the vet confirmed that Bandit was bitten by a venomous snake.

Bandit was discharged from the clinic after 12 hours.

"I have never seen a snake in the yard before, our yard is very well kept and there isn't many places for snakes to hide, so it was very surprising that this happened," she said, advising other pet owners to provide quick first aid in such cases.