Page 76 of Rachel’s Pudding Pantry

Chapter 31

A SNAKE IN THE GRASS

A week later, the day dawned bright and sunny on Primrose Farm. It was one of those idyllic summer days in the Cheviot Hills that looked like it had been drawn from a postcard – the sky was a deep, vibrant blue, in contrast with the verdant green fields below. Rachel was struggling a little in the heat, but she needed to move the sheep down to the Low Field, where she’d set up an outdoor ‘race’. She had to be ready for the next day as Simon was coming in to herd them through for worming and to check their hooves.

She set off with Moss on the quad and started in the furthest field, Hetton Ridge. The ground was rougher here with the odd gorse bush as it was nearing the moorland hills. Moss was a great worker and happily responded to her commands of ‘Away’ and ‘Come by.’ He was an old hand at this, having been well-trained by her father. He also knew the lie of the land on the farm. A couple of times he disappeared out of sight amongst the gorse and rocky outcrops, but he’d reappear again, steering some errant sheep back towards the flock. Rachel spotted another small group of ewes and lambs further up the rise and sent him up for them.

Shortly afterwards she heard an almighty yelp. Moss seemed to take a long time in coming back and, when he did, he was limping. Oh no, what had he done? Had there been something sharp in the ground up there?

‘Hey Moss, what’s up boy?’ He reached the quad, but didn’t seem right at all. Rachel knelt to investigate the damage. She checked the pads of his feet and couldn’t see any sharp thorns or stones, which were often the culprits, and the leg itself didn’t seem out of line or broken. He was whimpering though and seemed in real discomfort.

‘Is it a sprain, lad? Did you twist it or something?’ She helped him up to the quad; it was unusual that he didn’t try to jump. He was heavy, but she managed to get him in the back. The sheep were beginning to drift off again, but Rachel decided to call it a day for now and take Moss back to the farmhouse. It was more important that she check his leg more thoroughly and let him rest it in his kennel. Maybe he’d trodden on a sharp stone and bruised it, or twisted it slightly. If only he could tell her what was wrong. It’d probably heal quickly with a bit of time out.

She went the quickest route by the track that adjoined her and Tom’s farms, rather than opening and closing the various field gates. As she turned a bend, she spotted Tom’s quad heading towards her.

‘Hey,’ he said, as he pulled up at the side of her.

‘Hi, Tom.’

‘Everything all right?’

‘Actually no. I think poor Moss has hurt his paw, or leg. He seems a bit lame, reckon he’s trod on something whilst herding the sheep.’

Moss was whimpering loudly in the back, as if to say ‘It really hurts.’

‘Can I take a look?’

‘Yeah, of course. I’ve checked but can’t see anything.’

‘Where were you?’

‘Hetton Ridge.’

‘Near the moorland, yeah?’

‘Yeah.’

He moved to the dog, with soothing words. ‘It’s okay, boy. Let’s check you out.’ He took the paw extremely gently and examined it closely and carefully. Moss let out a deeper whimper, as he reached a certain part of the lower leg.

‘Ah … here. Now I see. Okay Rachel, we need to get him to a vet straight away. It’s an adder bite. Here, look.’

And there on Moss’s foreleg were the tell-tale two puncture wounds, which were now beginning to darken and swell.

‘Right, jump on the back with him and keep him still. We need to restrict his movement to stop the venom from spreading. I’ll take you down to my jeep and we’ll get to the Kirkton vet, right away.’

‘Oh my God, I hadn’t seen.’ Rachel felt awful that she’d missed it. ‘I hadn’t even thought.’ She couldn’t let anything happen to Moss, not Dad’s dog. He was such a wonderful boy, he was in his prime.

‘Hey, it’s all right.’ Tom saw how concerned she was. ‘I only know as I had a dog bitten once. It’s a sunny day and the adders bask, especially up near the moorland. Don’t worry, if we get him to the vets quickly, he should be fine.’

Once they’d transferred to the pick-up, keeping Moss as still as they could with Rachel still holding him, Tom made a quick call to the vets to let them know they were on the way with an adder-bitten dog, so they could get prepared. The sooner you acted the better in these cases.

Rachel was so pleased she’d met Tom on the track by chance; it might have been much later when she’d spotted the wound herself, and more damage could have been done. She tried to stay calm, soothing Moss with gentle words and stroking his soft silky head.

They soon arrived at the vets, Rachel carrying Moss in. God, he was getting heavy in her arms. The vet had an examination room ready, and they went straight in. The vet took a quick look and then administered anti-venom immediately and gave Moss some pain relief.

‘How long ago was he bitten?’

‘Only about fifteen minutes,’ Rachel answered.