Dog Fighting For Its Life After Rattlesnake Bite, Family Left With Thousands In Vet Bills
NORCO (CBSLA) — A dog is fighting for her life after a run-in with a rattlesnake, and now her family is asking for help as they try to save her with anti-venom.
It was a sleepless night for the Cox family after their dog was bitten at least twice by the snake in their own backyard in Norco.
Six-year-old Mattie Cox is trying to be brave for her beloved pup, Jay.
"I'm worried about my dog and I want her to be alive," she said.
Thankfully, Mattie and her three-year-old sister were inside when the incident unfolded.
"As soon as I opened up the slider [sliding glass door], that's when I heard the sound," Mattie's mother, Jennifer Bauman Cox, said.
That was the sound of a rattlesnake right next to her daughters' playhouse.
"Had it not been so hot, they probably would have been outside," Jennifer said.
She walked around the playhouse and says that's when "Jay went on the attack," dragging the snake from the corner to another place in the yard.
"I didn't know she was bit at first. I did think that the blood on her jowls was from the guts from the snake," she explained.
But the family started worrying when Jay was out of breath and acting strange.
Jennifer called the family's veterinarian but they didn't have any anti-venom. She rushed Jay to a hospital 10 miles from their home. Veterinarians say Jay had been bitten at least twice and needed two rounds of anti-venom.
Now, the family is left with thousands of dollars in vet bills. At a friend's encouragement, she started a GoFundMe page.
"How do you put a price tag on trying to save an animal that you feel protected you?" Jennifer asked. "One dollar, five dollars — anything helps at this point," she said.
The girls, in the meantime, are praying their pup gets better and gets to come home.
"[She's] my favorite doggy in the world," three-year-old Zoey said.