Don Turnipseed

Well, it has been a couple of uneasy days. One of my best dogs, Geronimo got hit in the belly by a rattler Thursday afternoon. I have had a lot of snake bit dogs and have never lost any but this one was/is making me a bit uneasy. The belly is a bad spot. He was having trouble urinating very soon after the bite and the possibility of infection I would think is worse also. I went to the feed store and got a 16ga needle and a large syringe in case he got to where the bladder was going to have to be drained but, so far, he is still drinking and urinating with some effort. I got some antihistamines in him right after it happened but not since. Giving him penicillin to ward off infection. I think he may be over the hump, hopefully. Let's say he is in better shape than the last two days but he is still one sick dog. I took a hose and filled all his favorite places to lay with water and let it soak in so he would be comfortable and he moves from one to another as the sun moves. The possibility of infection has me more worried than anything else at this point.