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Dog recovering after rattlesnake bite in South Salt Lake seeks new home

Posted at 5:04 PM, Aug 11, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-11 20:10:23-04

SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah -- A Basset Hound playing in a South Salt Lake backyard is lucky to be alive after being bitten in the face by a rattlesnake.

It happened on Saturday near 3900 South and 500 East.

The 8-year-old hound, named Bentley, was sniffing around when the snake bit him twice on the face, according to Carol Mundinger of Utah Friends of Basset Hounds.

She said Bentley has already been through his fair share of pain, even before being bitten. Bentley is a rescue dog, twice given up his owners. For the past five months, he has been in the care of the non-profit organization, Utah Friends of Basset Hounds.

Mundinger said she didn't see the snake, but she knew something was wrong when Bentley's face began to swell up. His head doubled in size. She immediately took him to the vet.

"When the vet called me and said he has a rattlesnake bite I went, 'Are you kidding me?' the rattlesnakes don't come down below Wasatch Boulevard, I've been told that ever since I was in Utah, well somebody forgot to tell the snakes that," Mundinger said.

Bentley spent 48 hours at Cottonwood Animal Hospital. They say if Mundinger would have waited to seek treatment, this hound could have died. He ended up being shot with anti-venom and is expected to make a full recovery.

All he needs is a loving family to go home to.

"Yep, he's looking for another home, preferably one with no snakes in the backyard," Mundinger said.

If you are interested in adopting Bentley, click here or call 801-915-DOGS.

Cottonwood Animal Hospital said dogs being bitten by rattlesnakes in residential areas is a recurring issue. They've already treated a handful of dogs with snake bites this summer.