MNN - Mother Nature Network

 

One Australian family got the shock of their lives when their black Labrador came home with a deadly copperhead snake coiled around its snout, according to an article in the Australian Herald Sun.

 

Bronson, a trained retriever, had often returned home with items like lost cell phones — but a live snake was definitely a first.

 

Bronson, who had the snake’s tail clamped firmly between his jaws, remained totally rigid, trained not to move his head while carrying anything he had retrieved.

 

A photo at the Herald Sun shows the forlorn-looking dog with the snake wrapped around its snout while his owners, Deborah and Peter Allen, figured out how to deal with the situation.

 

"There was Bronson with the snake hanging out of his mouth and the snake's body wrapped around his nose," Deborah Allen said.

 

"We weren't sure if it was alive or not and we touched its head which was down at ground level and it moved — it appeared slightly stunned."

 

Deborah Allen pulled a bag over the snake from the ground up and carefully pulled the snake’s body loose from the dog’s head.

 

"And as soon I said 'Give' he dropped it right into the bag and we sealed up the ends."

 

Bronson was rushed to a nearby veterinary center, where doctors confirmed that he had been bitten by the snake. He spent four days in the hospital before returning home in good health.