Otis with a Swollen Neck

Otis had been fine earlier in the day. But in the afternoon he did something he never does. He went to the bedroom, got in his bed and stayed there until late in the evening when he finally got up. When he came into to computer room were I had been working all day, he had this swelling on his neck. I checked him and found a very small wound like a puncture on the side of his jaw which he did not want me to touch and which exuded a small amount of blood streaked serous fluid. Because of the rather sudden onset of the swelling, I knew it wasn't an abscess, but rather edema, apparently caused by a reaction to the wound which I suspect was a copperhead snake bite. I called the vet who told me to give him Benedryl, watch him, and call back if he began to choke or have difficulty breathing. Luckily I had some generic Benedryl and it did the trick. Within four hours the swelling had gone down significantly. First thing in the morning we were off to the vet. The wound had turned quite dark with very angry red edges. Since Otis had no fever or other apparent problems, the vet gave him a prednisone shot to reduce the remaining edema, told me to clean the wound every day, and sent us home with an antibiotic to prevent infection. He seems to be healing nicely. (IMG_4264)