A DOG was left in agony and ‘almost unrecognisable’ after being bitten by a venomous spider in Redditch.
The spider, believed to be a false widow or similar, sank its fangs into black Labrador Bonnie while she was out for a walk near her home in Redditch.
The 15-month-old needed emergency treatment after her face swelled up five days later while the family were in Newcastle visiting family.
“It was a terrible shock to see her face swell up and it happened so quickly, being so far from home made it even worse,” said Lisa Bennett, who owns Bonnie with her husband Nick.
“Five days before all this drama happened, we’d been walking Bonnie and our other black lab Benson near our house when she gave a yelp and came limping back to us.
“We checked her over, couldn’t see anything untoward, then she went off again and seemed totally fine.
“What we know now is that the yelp was almost certainly a sign she’d been bitten.”
In Newcastle they ran some tests and concluded Bonnie had been bitten by a spider before administering an injection to counteract the effects of the bite.
Senior vet nurse Ashley Wemple said it’s very rare for pets to be bitten by spiders.
“This is not the type of case we see every day. But if your dog gets bitten by an insect or even a snake, it can be difficult to see any evidence because the bite is often covered by their fur.
“It can take hours, or days, for this to happen, but if there is a bad reaction or swelling then time really is of the essence, and you should seek help straight away.
“Nick and Lisa did the right thing calling us when they did, if they had delayed, the consequences could have been very serious.”
Bonnie’s swelling disappeared completely after three days and she’s made a full recovery.
