The Hearld-Sun

"DURHAM — Helen Kalevas nearly lost her best friend to a snake bite reciently, but the Jack Russell Terrier pulled through.

Her 10-pound dog, Opal, was attacked May 25 by a copperhead outside her home in rural Orange County, and spent four days at Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospital on Morreene Road in Durham. Anti-venom and blood transfusions saved her, but at a cost of $4,000 and sleepless nights.

“My significant other had the dog with him off-leash and was watching her,” Kalevas said. “All of a sudden, she jumped and yelped, and he saw her sitting down with fang marks on her leg.”
They rushed her to the hospital." ...read more