SINGAPORE – It was the evening of April 8 when the Wong family’s two dogs started barking, alerting the family to the presence of a 1.5m long black spitting cobra in their backyard.
“We tried to stop our dogs from attacking the cobra and grabbed garden tools to intercept,” said Wong Ji Siang, the family’s 25-year-old son.
“By the time we got the tools, the snake was already half dead and my dog had venom in her eyes.”
Yeogi, the family’s six-year-old female mongrel, was struck in her right eye with the snake’s venom which led to swelling and secretion of pus. Their other mongrel, Kumar, was unharmed.
Yeogi was taken to the vet and has since regained most of her eyesight.
The family, who lives beside a hill along Carmichael Road, says that the incident was not the first of its kind.
Just the previous morning on April 7, the dogs had encountered a snake of the same species, but had killed it before any harm was done.
On numerous other occasions, creatures such as a civet cat and a python have entered their home.
When asked how residents should approach a snake or other creatures that enter their home, Anbarasi Boopal, deputy chief executive of Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES), said that residents should call the ACRES hotline for help.
“We will ask for a description of the snake or creature and provide further help. If the snake is solid black with no patterns, it could likely be a cobra and people are advised to stay at least two metres away.”
racheloh@sph.com.sg
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This article was first published on April 27, 2016.
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