This homeowner went into her backyard after hearing her dog barking and found it lunging at a neonate Western Diamondback Rattlesnake.
Concerned the dog may have been bitten, she immediately took it to the veterinarian, then called us to relocate the snake.
Normally we try to keep relocated rattlesnakes within their estimated home range whenever possible, but there was a problem here. A large patch of desert directly behind the home had recently been completely cleared for development. Much of the habitat this little snake would have been using was gone.
As a result, Gary had to take the snake a little farther out than we would have preferred to find suitable habitat and cover for its release.
