Over the last several years, veterinarians have been having a harder and harder time getting their hands on snakebite antivenom. Part of the reason is that rattlesnake venom is being used in more medications all the time. I was told it’s an ingredient in a popular weight loss drug, but that’s not true. It is true, however, that it’s a key ingredient in several cancer treatment and chronic pain management medications. So pharmaceutical companies are buying it up as fast as snake wranglers can milk the rattlers, leaving very little for veterinarians to use for snakebite treatment.
Combine that with a number of long-time snake farms closing down, or the snake farmers retiring, and that doesn’t leave much for the veterinary industry. The human medicine markets pay a whole lot more for it, so that’s where it’s all going.
With that in mind, it’s more important than ever to just keep your dog away from snakes. If there’s a rattler buzzing and hissing, most likely your dog is going to give it a wide berth. But snakes don’t always rattle or hiss before they strike, and dogs by nature are inquisitive. Snake aversion classes use both fake and real snakes to train your dog to steer clear of the sight, sound and smell of them. Most of the classes can be completed in a weekend, and the lessons they teach will be retained by your dog for the rest of its life.
They say prevention is worth a pound of cure, and in this case, that’s certainly true. If your dog gets bit by a rattlesnake and there’s no antivenom available, it’s a long, expensive, and painful process to get him nursed back to health. Avoiding getting bit in the first place is a whole lot less problematic.
Look up a snake aversion class in your area, and get your dog enrolled soon.
