A family has warned fellow dog owners to be aware of snakes while out walking their four-legged friends after their Golden Retriever was badly bitten on a walk last weekend.

Nine-month-old Golden Retriever Archie had a nasty surprise on his walk on Sunday (July 24) when he was bitten by a snake, leaving his paw bloody, swollen, pouring with pus, and needing a trip to the vet.

Now his owners Nikki Bellot, and sons James and Simon from Guisborough are warning other dog owners to be aware of potentially deadly snakes when out walking their four-legged friends.

Nikki told The Northern Echo: “We went for a walk around Lockwood Beck on Sunday and Archie was about two thirds of the way around when he started limping so we took him back to the car.

Read more: Family heartbroken after beloved dog dies following savage attack in popular County Durham park

“When we got home literally fifteen minutes later his leg was pouring with puss and he couldn’t put any weight on it so James took him to the emergency vets.

The Northern Echo: Archie enjoying the water before he was attacked by a snake.Archie enjoying the water before he was attacked by a snake.

“By the time he got to the vets the skin on his leg had started dying and when they cleaned him up you could see two fang marks where he’d been bitten by a snake.

“I’m so pleased we took him to the vet, I would probably have waited til the next morning thinking he just had an infection or something but who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t been seen.

“He could have lost his leg or even worse if we’d waited any longer.”

The Northern Echo: The skin on his paw had started to die and he was left with 2 fang marks where the snake had bitten him.The skin on his paw had started to die and he was left with 2 fang marks where the snake had bitten him.

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Vets told the family they were lucky the Golden Retriever was bitten on the leg, as a bite to the snout may have caused the throat to swell and potentially been deadly.

Nikki added: “You’ll pay anything to look after your dog but it has cost us £900 in the last few days. If he’d need anti-venom the vet said that would have been another £900 alone.”

Archie is now on medication for the bite and feeling sorry for himself after having his lower paw shaved.

The Northern Echo: Nine-month-old Golden Retriever Archie.Nine-month-old Golden Retriever Archie.

Last week The Northern Echo reported on a venomous snake sighting at a Cod Beck reservoir in North Yorkshire.

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