Remembering who saved my dog | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

The story “Remembering who saved my dog” recalls a teenage crisis in Arkansas, when a hound named Sniffer helped save the author after a deadly snake bite. Around ages 12–13, the author lived in a rental on a small farm about a mile from Norphlet along U.S. 267, becoming closely bonded with the brown hound. During a midsummer trip to a creek bottom to fish and dig worms, the author stepped on a water moccasin and was quickly threatened with a strike. Sniffer fought back, biting the snake and breaking free it from the author’s leg, but the snake bit Sniffer below his left eye. The local veterinarian offered only a “shot” to end suffering, until Mr. Harris, nearly blind, took over care. Over two days he drip-fed and hydrated Sniffer, and within weeks the dog was about 75% recovered, though not fully.