“The veterinarians said there was little chance to find Boomslang anti-venom to save Miley. We were frantic and when we posted our cry for help, we threw hope to the wind…”
The Hartbeespoort Snake and Animal Park saved a year-old Golden Retriever over 1000km away last week after it was bitten by a Boomslang.

The owners’ frantic search led to a single vial of anti-venom in Hartbeespoort and thanks to people’s help all over the country, Miley received the anti-venom in time to save her life.

Miley was bitten by the snake on a farm in Cape Town last Friday. Her owners only noticed the bite when she started bleeding and up

on inspecting th

e area where she came from, they spotted a Boomslang.
“We immediately rushed her to the veterinarian. We keep anti-venom for puff adders and cobras because we have lost dogs before, but not for Boomslang. The vets told us we had very little chance of obtaining anti-venom for Boomslang,” she said.
By Saturday, Miley was already bleeding from her nose. “We tried every avenue and after hours on the phone, my husband tracked a single vial to Hartbeespoort Snake and Animal Park. We spoke to Jason Seale and he said he would be able to send the vial to Lanseria Airport immediately. Now, we just had to find someone who was flying to Cape Town to bring it with.”
The family frantically sent out messages on social media and Miley’s story and plight travelled far and wide. “Within 20 minutes of posting the first message, a stranger phoned us from Lanseria and said he would bring the vial. People from here rushed to Cape Town Airport to pick it up. Within four hours after first asking for help, we had the anti-venom in our hands and we rushed to the vet who had already prepared Miley! The venom changed hands seven times before it reached us.”

Miley was injected with the anti-venom and she slowly but surely showed signs of recovering. “She still has a couple of symptoms but she is almost back to her old self. Her story travelled worldwide and we cannot express our gratitude to all the strangers who came to our assistance. If it wasn’t for all these people out there, Miley would not be with us today. Our sincere gratitude to Jason of the snake park who was ready to help us.
According to Jason, Miley was the second Golden Retriever the snake park saved the same day. The first one was bitten by a Boomslang in Brits.
“We had two vials of expired anti-venom. The anti-venom is still effective but it is not allowed to be used for human treatment. We donate it for animal use. We are happy to help pet owners when we can.”
A single vial of anti-venom for Boomslang costs R7 500.