Urgent snake warning issued after beloved dog dies from adder bite on popular Welsh beach

Dan McDonald
Thu, 23 Apr 2026 03:43:09 +0000

A dog owner has issued an urgent warning to others after her beloved pooch was killed by a suspected snake bite on a popular Welsh beach.

Jo Bowen-Jones, from Anglesey, said she had been walking her springer-cocker spaniel, Baxter, when the dog was bitten by an adder - Britain's only venomous snake.

The Welsh grandmother says she believes the attack occurred shortly after the pair crossed a wooden bridge over Afon Crigyll.

Baxter had been running around a grassland area, but suddenly came to an uncharacteristic halt.

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Ms Bowen-Jones said: "I was on a track heading back to the car, not too far from the bridge, when I saw Baxter suddenly stop and lift his front paw.

"He didn't yelp and after some coaxing he came to me. But he was struggling to walk - I had to half carry him over the bridge."

She described Baxter as a "real character" and a "lovely dog who was well-known in the village because he was always at my side".

"He loved going for this walk - we went there four or five times a week. He was a typical spaniel, nose to the ground, tail wagging," she added.

After the pooch was unable to make it back home, the grandmother left him with a campervan owner nearby while she went to pick up her car.

She said: "But in the time I'd been away, he'd vomited and pooed himself. There wasn't any swelling but I felt his paw and there was a tiny mark."

After rushing the wounded pooch to Bodrwnsiwn Vets in Mona, the beloved pet was brought in on a rug after being unable to walk into the practice.

He was swiftly put on a hydration drip and administered anti-histamines and paracetamol.

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Although vets suspected he had been bitten by an adder, they opted not to give anti-venom to the dog.

Ms Bowen-Jones explained: "It can cause anaphylactic shock and other side effects... As Baxter's breathing was so laboured, it was decided anti-venom was too risky."

After arranging to pick up Baxter at 6pm, she received an urgent call an hour before collection, where vets told her that he had "taken a turn for the worse".

The grandmother said: "His heart had stopped and, by the time I got there, he had died.

"I knew he was going downhill and I was losing him but it was still a shock. He was a fit and healthy five-year-old dog. As he had deteriorated so quickly, it made me wonder if he'd had an underlying condition.

"I can't fault the vets. They did their best and there were very clearly very upset. We're 80 per cent-plus sure it was an adder bite that killed him."

She added that shortly after the ordeal, she heard an adder had been sighted in the same area that Baxter had frolicking prior to the bite.

Ms Bowen-Jones issued a warning on social media to help other dog owners avoid the same fate.

She wrote: "Dog owners often associate adders with coastal dunes but this happened on grassland, but they can be found in any open, sunny habitat.

"This year they seem to have come out early. Usually they will do their best to avoid people and dogs.

"But early in the year, as they emerge from hibernation, they can a little drowsy and might not be so quick to get away, so extra care is needed."

The Welshwoman - who is a widower of 10 years - confirmed she was now on the lookout for her next pet after giving herself time to grieve Baxter's death.

Britain is home to three species of native snakes - the grass snake, smooth snake and the adder.

Although adders are the only venomous snake in the UK, it is also the smallest - growing up to 34 inches in length.

Around 100 bites on humans are reported every year in Britain - with a similar number for dogs.

Human fatalities are incredibly rare however, with only 14 deaths recorded in the past century - the last coming in 1975.