In Life, There Are No Coincidences.
Everything Happens For A Reason. (But It Pays To Have Good Timing).
Dante, a three-year-old black Labrador Retriever, was supposed to be in Spain with his family, Navy Cmdr. and surgeon Carl C. Eierle and his wife Charlotte. But, due to timing issues with his international health certificate, he had to remain behind for two weeks with Charlotte’s mother, Gudrun Mastriano. Out for a walk with Dante in a Kissimmee park, Gudrun came upon a cottonmouth water moccasin. Dante stepped in front of Gudrun, grabbed the snake, and flung it away. But the snake came back, viciously biting Dante on his snout, left leg and under his neck. He had extensive swelling around his mouth, making it difficult for him to move his lips. “That could have been me,” said Gudrun, who initially thought nothing of the short, fat snake with a white mouth right in front of her feet. After receiving emergency treatment at Celebration Animal Clinic and Veterinary Health Associates in Winter Haven, which included antivenin and blood transfusions, Dante was referred to the SPCA of Florida McClurg Animal Medical Center in Lakeland. There, he went through several days of life-saving treatments in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Not only did the oxygen provide pain relief, but the twice-aday treatments for several days helped push out the venom still in his system. “With snake bites, the toxin tends to cause a lot of skin tissue breakdown. How many treatments are needed, and how often, will vary case to case,” said Dr. James Raatz, a veterinarian at the McClurg Animal Medical Center. “Cottonmouths are very venomous snakes, and the hyperbaric treatments can dramatically heal damaged cells caused by their venom.” In a fortuitous turn of events, the state-of-the-art hyperbaric chamber was installed one day before Dante arrived. Dr. Tim Crowe just happened to be at the Medical Center, training staff on the chamber’s use the day Dante arrived. A champion of hyperbaric technology (HBOT) who has achieved astonishing results by adapting it from the human medical sphere to animal care, Dr. Crowe immediately integrated Dante’s case into his training for McClurg medical staff. The treatments, which cost about $125 per visit, reduced Dante’s swelling safely and painlessly by delivering concentrated oxygen into the damaged cells to speed healing. Dante, who had arrived with his head down, tail between his legs and snout swollen to almost 17 inches, emerged from the oxygen treatment wagging his tail and his snout reduced to 12 inches. “Dante has always been my hero for being by my side with unwavering loyalty,” said Charlotte. “My husband unexpectedly deployed to Iraq in 2009. Luckily, I had adopted Dante a week prior to his departure date before we received word of his deployment.” Both Dante and her husband are heroes, she said, explaining that Carl has been in the United States Navy for 23 years. He has volunteered his time to missions that have aided in the survival of brutally wounded service members. “Dante is my buddy, as is my husband, and both for the same reasons—they instinctually care,” said Charlotte. U
Dante, who is being prepped by veterinary techinician Trish Haggins, arrived at the SPCA Florida McClurg Animal Medical Center in Lakeland with his head down, tail between his legs and snout swollen to almost 17 inches.
Dante emerged from the hyperbaric oxygen chamber with his tail wagging and his snout reduced to 12 inches.
Dante receives one last hug from Gudrun Mastriano at Orlando International Airport, before being shipped overseas to be reunited with his family, Navy Cmdr. Carl C. Eirle and his wife, Charlotte in November, 2012. Photograph by Red Huber, Orlando Sentinel.
64 THE NEW BARKER
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