- The Mighty Snake Killer
If you follow our Facebook page, you already know this week was a bit of a stressful one for all of us … especially little Ernie.
The Insanity Begins …
On Sunday night, Donna heard Ernie barking up a storm. He’s a laidback kind of guy, so she knew something was wrong. She walked up to discover a Copperhead had made its way into Ernie’s kennel, and they were both bowed up at one another. Yikes!
Being the Jack/hunter he is, Ernie struck first, and a fight to death (for the snake, thankfully) ensued. Unfortunately, Ernie was struck three times during the altercation, including on his mouth. At the very same time, a tree branch above another row of kennels broke … and fell on the power lines! Suffice to say, chaos followed. Fortunately, Donna was able to race Ernie to the emergency vet in record time, while the fire department and electric company rushed to safely remove the branch.
The Next Day
Team Russell was out in full force the next morning, reinforcing the kennel bottoms with hardwire cloth and cleaning up the leftover tree mess.
Ernie received the anti-venom, and his bloodwork was looking good, but his mouth was sore, and he was not interested in eating or drinking. We were all very concerned about our little man, but knew how tough he is. After all, this is the sweet boy who has remained happy and trustful, despite the fact he and his brother, Bert, were neglected by their former owner before they were dumped at the kill shelter during Christmas week.
A Long Week
Ernie was moved to one of our regular vets in Cumming (we have a wonderful sponsor with them), where he spent the next several days on fluids and under a watchful eye. The first day or so was definitely rough. His face was still very swollen and his mouth was incredibly sore, but he finally started to improve by Wednesday morning.
He is now back at the ranch, living indoors, and is being hand-fed. Aside from a little residual soreness, he is back to his regular happy-go-lucky self. We can all breathe a sigh of relief … and we are now more diligent than ever to find our “mighty snake killer” his forever home. If anyone deserves it, this boy does! He put his life on the line to take out the threat. Please, join us in networking this special guy. Let’s find the right family who is worthy of his mightiness.
