A dog owner has urged walkers to be vigilant after her five-year-old rescue dog was bitten in the face by an adder which resulted in a £1,700 vet bill.
Linda, who did not wish her surname to be included, was walking her dog Abby in Penllergaer on Tuesday, April 26, when she was bitten by a snake hidden amongst the grass.
Abby was "left distraught" and required medical attention and needed two injections to save her life from the venomous bite, WalesOnline reported.
Linda said: "It all happened so quickly, Abby is a nervous dog and quite cautious so it was really upsetting to see her react quite scared.
"I noticed the adder scurrying away which Is when I realised what had happened.
"When we got home she just wasn't herself, she laid down and we tried to make her comfortable but her face started to swell which is when we took her to the vet."
Her owner, Linda, said the anti-venom injection required for Abby was not in widespread supply across Wales when she took her to a vets in Llanelli.
However, the vets managed to source the life saving injections from another practice in Carmarthen, but the total bill for treatment came to just short of £1,700.
The "terrifying" ordeal left the family facing a large financial expense, although they added that, "it was never any doubt we were going to pay".
However, the family were devastated to nearly lose their beloved pet and wanted to raise awareness of the dangers to those who might not be as fortunate in being financially able to afford the treatment.
They are now urging owners to be mindful on walks of these "hidden dangers" and reminding dog walkers that even those on a lead are still at risk.
It comes just days after a huge 3ft-long venomous snake was been spotted on a British beach.
The UK's only poisonous snake was seen slithering along by walker Debbie Lee at Middle Beach, Studland, in Dorset.
After deciding to take a leisurely stroll along the beach, Debbie said she suddenly came across the camouflaged viper.
She told DorsetLive : "We were walking down the path towards the beach and my partner noticed something move in front of us.
"The adder was already in the middle of the path.
"I approached it slowly and started taking some random snaps as it was very sunny and I wasn’t sure if I had caught it on camera.
"The snake then disappeared into the bushes.
"Luckily, when we got home and looked back at the pics we had quite a clear photo. It was about 3ft long!"
