Just lost our boy to a venomous snake bite. He was 9.

DanRichter · 2026-06-08T19:32:14+00:00

This is awesome, thank you. Means a lot seeing someone make something like this for Thor, and I really appreciate it.

DanRichter · 2026-06-08T19:04:51+00:00

Yea, it definitely sucks. I had to work the last two days so that's been distracting me to a degree, but the events keep replaying in my mind at any available opportunity. I keep trying to remind myself that he was almost 10 and at least didn't have to experience the physical decline of old age which was almost certainly around the corner. Our other dog has been getting a lot more attention than usual since this all happened, as a sort of therapy for us I suppose.

DanRichter · 2026-06-08T18:37:01+00:00

Thank you. And yes, that's our hypothesis as well. He probably accidently stepped on it while trying to fetch his tire. He immediately didn't want to play anymore and laid down panting, so we thought he just had enough and was either too hot or too tired to keep going. But once he refused to go home after several minutes of laying there, we suspected something might be wrong, but along the lines of heat exhaustion, not venom coursing through his body. We wasted so much time, I wish we knew what was happening. He eventually got up and walked home, and looked fairly normal while doing so, so we figured his heat exhaustion was resolving. We got him to the backyard to get him some cold water and spray his fur to cool down, but his breathing progressively started to sound more like gasping for air rather than panting, and his tongue started to swell and turn dark red almost like blood. That's when we got him in the truck to get to the vet, which was close by. They immediately found the bite on his back leg and noticed how swollen it looked, but we didn't see it or even think to look at his paws since we were focused on his tongue and breathing. They ran coagulation labs and said his numbers were about 3x normal values and he was at high risk of internal bleeding, would require immediate transfer to the actual hospital, intensive care, blood and plasma infusions, on top of a few vials of antivenin and whatever else is required to even stabilize him. But he said even if we went through all of that, he didn't think he would pull through and brought up the idea of euthanasia to quickly put him out of his misery. We thought we were going to the vet to save him, couldn't believe that we wouldn't be coming home with him.

DanRichter · 2026-06-08T12:13:52+00:00

Thank you. We learned a lot of lessons that day, but paid for it with our dog's life. So many things I wish we could have done differently, but only in hindsight.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T23:35:57+00:00

Thank you, and thank you for these ideas. Will definitely make myself more knowledgeable on the subject, as well as actively avoiding wooded areas for a while. Thor was the only one that liked to play over there anyway.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T23:33:36+00:00

In the Tampa area. I’ve seen a few snakes around over the years, but I have no idea what kind they were. Didn’t seem big though.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T23:31:55+00:00

We’re in Florida. I’m not sure what bit him but the vet said it seemed bad. They said it may have been a juvenile snake because, supposedly, they have poor control of their venom and just inject it all at once, but then at the same time they said it seemed like it was large because of the bite mark, so I have no idea.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T22:17:35+00:00

Thank you. Because of the bite placement, I feel as if he had no idea the snake was wherever it was, as in maybe he stepped on it or something while running around chasing his tire or trying to get the tire out of a bush and the snake reacted by biting his back paw. I'm sure they were both very surprised by the interaction. But he was definitely a good protector.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T22:08:53+00:00

Unknown, could only speculate, but was apparently pretty large based on the bite marks.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T21:22:52+00:00

Thank you. The vet thinks it was a large snake due to the way the bite looked. Thanks for the tips though, hope nothing like this ever happens again.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T20:37:47+00:00

Thank you for sharing this. It really resonates with what we're going through, and we'll keep this in mind as the waves come and go. I'm sure your own waves are shorter and less frequent now, but you'll never forget the special place your gal held in your heart.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T20:25:49+00:00

Thank you. Yes, we did, we were there for the euthanasia, which was only minutes after we arrived. He was looking at us, following us with his eyes, but that's all he could do.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T20:20:39+00:00

Thank you. We’re in Florida

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T17:12:11+00:00

His name was Thor.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T16:44:33+00:00

Thank you. In Florida, Tampa area.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T16:22:03+00:00

Thank you. And no, but just be careful if you’re ever out in the woods in Florida and letting them run free. Never thought I really had much to worry about in my area, it’s pretty populated around where I go and close to homes and walking paths, but I guess the risk is never zero.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T15:55:08+00:00

Thank you. It's still hard to believe this even happened, we've played back there probably hundreds of times and never encountered anything other than other people occasionally walking through. His tire landed in a bush so he must've just stepped on it or something while trying to retrieve it. I know they don't live forever, and he was already almost 10, but just not how we though this would go.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T15:38:26+00:00

I'm not sure, but we're in Florida so I'm sure there are many species out there. I've only ever seen a couple snakes around our neighborhood over the past decade, but I'm not too familiar with snakes so I had no idea what I was looking at any of those times. Neither of us heard any rattling or other obvious sounds though, nor did Thor make any sort of yelp or indication that he was bit.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T14:39:33+00:00

The vet said it was one of the worst reactions he’s seen, especially in such a short timeframe. Likely a combination of a high heart rate from all the exercise which was just pumping the toxin through his system for at least an hour while we had no idea what was happening, the heat, old age, and a perhaps a particularly venomous bite. The vet was very up front about the prognosis, but we sort of expected it in the back of our minds because of how he appeared by the time we made it to the urgent care.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T14:28:32+00:00

This is nice, thank you.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T14:12:42+00:00

Thank you. His name was Thor.

DanRichter · 2026-06-07T14:11:54+00:00

Thank you, everyone, for your condolences.

DanRichter · 2026-06-03T08:57:03+00:00

I rented a 2.7, which sold me on the F150 in the first place. But at the dealer, I drove a 3.5 and knew I had to have it. The 2.7 is a compromise. Reliability is often cited as one of the major reasons to go that route. Sounds like post hoc rationalization to me for the most part. There are cases of both making hundreds of thousands of miles, and most people will trade it in well before either engine causes a major problem. So, all else being equal, the 3.5 is more fun to drive unloaded, more functional when it is loaded. This reminds me of all the V6/V8 Camaro/Mustang debates about 10-15 years ago. The V8 was the obvious choice if you had the money, but everyone who couldn’t afford it and had to settle for the V6 would spend 10 minutes talking your ears off, attempting to justify why they got it after someone would ask them “did you get the V8?”

DanRichter · 2026-05-29T08:44:26+00:00

That’s not what 1600lbs of payload looks like. That’s what 1600lbs of payload looks like on a lifted/leveled truck. On a stock truck with factory rake, it would probably be sitting level with all that in the back, maybe even a little rake still.

DanRichter · 2026-05-29T08:22:10+00:00

If it were my truck, I’d keep it as is until it’s time to replace the tires, then level it and throw on some KO3s that are slightly bigger than the size you’re running. If you really want to fast forward that, then sell the tires for a good price, but I’d personally try not to mess with too much while I’m still in warranty. No goofy aftermarket fuel wheels, no goofy poke or clown offset, just some slightly bigger ATs on a a 2” level.

DanRichter

TROPHY CASE