Tshokwane's Section Ranger Labrador (Sheba) Killed by Puff Adder Bites

Observer comments ... This is a sad story of a beautiful dog bitten twice by a Puffadder and died some 24 hours later. On my trip in June I saw a Puffadder slowly crossing the S90 close to Satara. It was moving in a dead straight line and I learned later that this snake is only one of 2 that can move like this. The other is the African Python.

Tshokwane section ranger Steven Whitfield’s beloved Labrador, Sheba, died on July 10, 2006 after being bitten by a puff adder the previous day.

Steven and Sheba were inseparable and a common sight in Kruger as she never left his side, going with Steven on daily game drives, patrols and even attending meetings.

“She was like my shadow,” Steven said. Steven got Sheba from Don English when she was about two and a half years old.

Once they had bonded, nothing could keep them apart. Steven said Sheba was not killed by a snake out of ignorance or not knowing what she was doing. She had killed a large number of snakes in her time as a ranger’s dog without any serious injury to herself. She was always very careful around wild animals and snakes and was very cunning in confrontations with both.

Steven said that over time she killed three male baboons inside his yard by systematically wearing them down before going in for the kill. The same applied with snakes, except for her final encounter, when she tried to protect the people she loved.

When Steven and his family arrived at their gate, Sheba barked and charged into a bush next to the gate. Steven immediately tried to prevent her from attacking, realising that it might be a snake. However, her protective instincts were too strong and she bit the puff adder and pulled it out of the bush. She had no room to move and by this time Steven knew that she must have been bitten at least once.

He tried in vain to stop her, but she was bitten again right in front of him. Steven immediately put her on the back of his bakkie and rushed her to Dr Roy Bengis, one of the vets in Skukuza. Within 25 minutes of being bitten she was given an antidote and drip and Steven was able to take her home that night.

Two bite marks were found on her face and neck. Sheba initially seemed to be recovering, but over the next day her condition worsened and she eventually died. Sheba was buried in the garden at Tshokwane where she can watch over the place and people she loved and protected. Steven said that he has not lost just a dog or a family pet, but also his companion and colleague at work. Many people do not always realise the important role a dog plays in the day-today activities of a ranger, and that a huge gap has been left by the death of his beloved pet.