Dog bitten by poisonous snake

Linda Mills-Ali said the English bull mastiff she owns with her partner, Kevin Stocker, was almost killed by what was believed to be a snake bite. Buster, aged around seven-and-a-half months, was responding well to treatment this week but only because he benefited from emergency care from a vet.

He is still receiving antibiotics though the bandages have come off his injured right hind leg.

Linda, of Loveys Road, said: 'We have told as many dog owners as possible about the snake's presence but there are also a lot of young children who play in that field. It's important that their parents are aware of the danger because the situation could be really serious.

'Buster is a big dog but his injured leg swelled up to two to three times its normal size. He was in a lot of distress.'

The drama began on the afternoon of July 6. Kevin (44) was taking Buster for a walk in the fields between Tack Lee Road and Canal Road.

He noticed that one of Buster's hind legs was bleeding heavily. It was obvious the whole leg was damaged, though he didn't know why. He and Linda (52) rushed Buster to Pet Doctors in Chichester. They took advice from a vet specialising in snake bites to diagnose the problem.

An anti-venom injection was secured from St Richard's Hospital at Chichester to begin Buster's treatment.

The vet assumed the bite had come from an adder because it is Britain's only native poisonous snake.