Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Snake Vaccine




Red Rocks snake vaccine is a great security blanket for guys like me who hunt MT in the fall. I know the big rattlers are there, even though I've never seen one. I try to avoid the places I think snakes would be- rock outcroppings, etc. I'm hoping when one of my dogs gets too curious and takes a hit, the vaccine will give us enough time to get to a vet. Heck, I hunt an hour or more, usually, away from any town. I always put the vet number in my phone and I have injectible steroids and benadryl, but this vaccine really makes me feel a lot better. One problem is Ace reacts to the shot. I called Red Rocks Biologic, the manufacturer, and talked to them- very friendly. Ace is that 1% dog that does swell up. Actually, he doesn't swell up due to the shot reaction, he swells about a week later with an abscess. then I drain it and give him some antibiotics and we are good to go. None of my other dogs (5) react. I still think it's worth the effort. Of all my dogs, Ace is the one to stick his nose where it doesn't belong.

Running up and down the coulees of MT in Sept, you know we are passing some snakes, but we've never seen any. Just lucky, I guess and I hope to stay that way.