LAKE WALES, Fla. (AP) — A woman says her American bulldog and two puppies were bitten by a diamondback rattlesnake near the steps of her rural central Florida home.
One of the puppies died following the Tuesday afternoon attack. The Ledger of Lakeland (http://bit.ly/1i797FA ) reports the mother dog Maisy and the other puppy, named Tundra, are being treated with anti-venom at a Winter Haven animal hospital.
Candy Sappington says Maisy started barking at the 6-foot-2-inch rattlesnake as she walked down the front stairs. She says the puppies also started barking. She told the Ledger she watched in shock as the snake bit Maisy on the right ear.
Sappington's 16-year-old son, Phillip, shot the snake with a .22-caliber rifle.
The surviving dogs have each been given one vial of anti-venom, which costs $700 per vial.
