WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC 4 News) – A woman says a snake bit her dog then attacked her in the backyard of her home.
Kerri Whiteman said the incident happened on Wednesday in a garden behind her house while she was picking tomatoes.
Whiteman said a large snake, green and brown in color, bit her mini pincher. She says she pried the snake off the small dog and then the snake began to bite her.
Whiteman is recovering from bruises on her left arm and back. She said the snake bit her three times and wrapped itself around her waist.
“It was squeezing me so hard,” Whiteman said. “I felt like it was going to crush my hips.”
Whiteman says she wrangled the snake free and tossed it toward the fence in her backyard.
Neighbors are worried the large snake may be on the loose.
“I’m not comfortable with it,” John Brown, a neighbor, said.
Utah Wildlife Services says Whiteman called to report the incident, but there is not much they can do because the snake is not venomous.
West Valley City Animal Control says they do not have an officer trained to handle snakes.
If you are bitten by a snake, medical experts say you should keep the bitten area elevated. Keep the area clean and dry. Watch for signs of infection. Do not put an ice pack on the snakebite. This may worsen the tissue damage.
