Newbury woman's panic as her beloved dog is bitten by an adder on Greenham Common

A NEWBURY woman has recalled the moment her dog suffered a severe reaction to an adder bite and praised the vets who saved her beloved pet.

Abbie Passmore was enjoying a walk with her father, and dogs Maisie and Baz, on Greenham Common last month when she nearly stepped on what she initially thought was a slow worm.

"We had cut the walk a bit short that day and walked across the middle," she said. "I looked down and saw what I thought was a slow worm and put my arm out to stop my dad stepping on it.

"Baz ran through the middle of us and stepped on it. Then Maisie came over to have a look and it went nose to nose with her.

"It clung to the side of her mouth and within less than two minutes she started slowing right down and stopped playing with the other dog.

"Her mouth had blown up and it had started to spread down the side of her mouth and nose, then down her throat. My heart sank when I saw her develop a limp and her breathing slowed right down.

"The venom must have worked its way in so quickly."

Ms Passmore said she picked up the two-year-old black Labrador and carried her quickly to the car, before rushing her to Donnington Grove Vets.

She admits that she was panicking as Maisie began foaming at the mouth.

But luckily, once in the hands of the vets, she reacted well to the anti-venom and was eventually released home the following evening.

"The vets expected her to be in for three or four days but she reacted really well to the anti-venom," added Ms Passmore. "The vets did an amazing job.

"I walk at Greenham Common every single day and you just don't imagine it will happen, but it was just one of those things.

"It was life-threatening so you just need to act quickly if you think they've been bitten because you just never know.

"I haven't been back up to the common yet, but I will go back and just stick to the track."

Lucy Mapplebeck, a veterinary nurse at Donnington Grove Vets, said they usually saw a couple of cases of adder bites each year.

She added: “It does happen. We do see at least a couple a year, when it starts to get warmer and they come out of hibernation, which is why we keep anti-venom on site.

“It’s not very often that it is fatal though; it depends where they are bitten.

“We give them the anti-venom and they usually stay in for 24 hours while the swelling goes down.

“It is incredibly painful for them and sometimes they are in a bit of shock too, so we give them pain relief and monitor them to make sure the swelling doesn’t get worse.”