Dog bitten by rattlesnake in Quincy

QUINCY, Mass. (WHDH) -- A dog was bitten by a rattlesnake while out for a walk in the Blue Hills Reservation with its dog walker.

Six-year-old Bonnie was at home, and happy Monday night -- a far cry from the limp and lethargic dog just days ago.

“She just started really declining,” said Kymberlee O’Brien. “Her arms completely swelled and it was purple and red.”

O’Brien’s beloved lab was rushed to the hospital after her dog walker took Bonnie on a daily walk through the Blue Hills Reservation. The stroll nearly turned deadly when Bonnie was bitten by a snake.

“She had two puncture wounds -- pretty big puncture wounds,” said Dr. Alana Deegan, VCA South Shore Animal Hospital.

Bonnie’s symptoms clearly pointed to a venomous snake, most likely a Timber rattlesnake or Copperhead. Both snakes are rare, but surprisingly call the Blue Hills Reservation home.

“This is the first one the hospital has ever seen. They have this venom major clotting disorders, heart arrhythmias,” said Dr. Alana Deegan, VCA South Shore Animal Hospital.

“That’s when I started crying and going, ‘okay, this is really serious,’” O’Brien said.

O’Brien’s typically playful pet was sick to the point where she no longer recognized her owners.

“She basically had her face in the ground and they could not even get her to be on her back limbs,” O’Brien said.

But Bonnie bounced back.

The Blue Hills Reservation is apparently the only place in eastern Massachusetts where you can find the endangered venomous snakes.