The vetinary practice that treated a labrador that received a potentially fatal adder bite while being taken for a walk at Hindhead has warned pet dog owners to be on the lookout for the UK’s most dangerous snake.

Diana Cant was walking her ;labrador ‘Stig’ at the Devil’s Punch Bowl when the dog suddenly became very lethargic and unwell.

She was about 10 minutes’ walk from the car park past the wooden stairs at the popular scenic spot.

After realising something was seriously, wrong, Diana called her vet who told her to get Stig to them as quicly as possible.

Thirty minutes later Stig was given life-saving intravenous anti-venom and although his face and throat were still very swollen when Diana collected him later in the day, he was thankfully on the mend.

She was full of praise for Chris Seargent, from Total Pet Care, based in Haslemere, and Kristy Buss, the senior veterinary nurse at the practice, who is a friend.

The grateful dog owner told The Herald: “They were fantastic and I would not have even thought of it being an adder bite had it not been for my friend,” said the grateful dog owner.

Kristy said Stig was “responding brilliantly” to his treatment. “It’s the second one we have seen this year and we get anything from three to six cases a year.”

The cold-blooded snakes come out at the beginning of the summer to bask in the sunshine and warm up.

Adders are a protected species and are very common in the area Kirsty added.

Dogs tended to get bitten on their noses or facial areas, as they investigate the snake’s presence.

Kirsty said: “It can be fatal, the area swells dramatically really quickly causing obstruction to the throat and the dog is unable to breath. Ideally, dog owners should carry a recognised over-the counter anti-histamine or ask their vet’s advice on carrying precautionary emergency treatment.”

She advised: “Calmly get the dog to a vet to keep their blood pressure down to prevent absorption of the venom, Walk your dog in the early morning and later in the evening when the temperature has dropped, rather than at lunchtime and in the early afternoon.”

Stig’s owner recalled what first made her suspect something was srong. “I was first concerned as a normally very bouncy dog was lethargic and walking behind me,” said Ms Cant.

First thinking the dog was suffering because of the very warm and humid conditions, she was horrified to find Stig’s mouth swollen and the dog yelping in pain, as she tried to investigate.

Fearing he had been stung by a bee, she walked on until she saw blood coming from a puncture wound on the dog’s face and her friend Maryjane, out walking with her, realised it could be an adder bite.