It was supposed to be an uneventful morning walk for Trish Emley when she set out with her dog Bubbles on Tuesday, October 4, but an encounter with a snake near Yarroweyah had her heart rate breaking records.
A Melbourne resident, Ms Emley is a regular visitor to friends at Yarroweyah and on a recent visit was walking Bubbles, a labrador Staffordshire bull terrier cross, along the old railway line.
“The dog faltered just slightly and it made me stop and I just looked in front of me, because I’ve always got my eyes out for lost gold or jewels or something or anything I might find, and then I just saw this great big long snake and the snake was just lying there at that moment,” she said.
“We were within a metre or a metre-and-a-half, and like all good people, I quickly grabbed my phone, because that’s the most important thing to do.’’
Ms Emley now credits Bubbles as being a life-saving hound.
“I think the dog saved my life because the snake was so camouflaged and I might have seen it at the last moment, and they’re on the defensive because they’re fearful and it could have got me or the dog,” she said.
“I’d said earlier to somebody, ‘Don’t worry, the snakes won’t be out yet, it’s not warm enough’, but they are.”
Ms Emley said dog walkers would be wise to keep their dogs on a lead if it was likely to run through long grass.
Goulburn Valley snake catcher Craig Bergman has been in the business for 30 years and been bitten four times.
He said the most prominent snakes he worked with were eastern browns, red bellied black and tiger snakes.
His advice for anyone who comes across a snake is simple.
“Just don't go near them. Just keep your distance from them because a snake’s not going to bite unless it's provoked,” he said.
Mr Bergman said the wet conditions had led to snake prey, such as frogs, increasing in numbers and flood waters have forced some snakes on the move to find food.
“It will push them out of the water areas and push them up on the drier land,” he said.
“They'll travel to where they can find food.”
Mr Bergman also said people should always be on the lookout for snakes when walking.
“Always keep your eyes on the ground. People need to look where they're walking and make as much noise as you can, especially if you're walking through the bush.”
And if you come across one, his advice: “Stand still, just stand still, watch the snake,” Mr Bergman said.
“The best thing to do is just back away slowly if you have the opportunity, otherwise just stand still.”
Which is, more or less, what Ms Emley did.
“This snake turned around and reared its head up at me, for which I just did the normal response, which was to scream and run,” she said.
“I wasn’t about to argue with said snake.”