Close call for wild puppies

STAFF of the N/a’an ku se Wildlife Sanctuary last week noticed facial swelling and signs of severe sickness in three of the 14 wild dog pups that had been moved to a large enclosure recently and it seemed that they had their first encounter with a venomous snake.

The three male pups were rushed to Windhoek Animal Hospital for emergency treatment, where Dr Audrey Roure confirmed the suspicion of snakebite.The wild dogs were treated with cortisone, antibiotics and rehydration infusions to stabilise their vital functions while snake expert Dr Christo Buys studied them to ascertain what kind of snake had bitten them.He concluded that a black mamba was the most likely culprit, and the appropriate anti-venom was administeredOn Thursday evening, the dogs were transferred back to N/a’an ku se where they were placed in isolation for monitoring. By noon on Friday, the dogs had recovered remarkably and were eating and drinking again.