‘Sweet’ shelter dog was bitten by snake. It changed his luck for the better
A shelter dog was bitten by a snake — and it changed his luck for the better.
The “sweet” North Carolina pup was rushed to the vet, where a clinic worker fell for him. Then came the heartwarming news that the worker adopted him.
“When a new animal comes our way, we never know what their story will be,” the Asheville Humane Society wrote Sept. 30 on Facebook. “Will they be adopted by a family? Reunited with their owner? Or maybe, a staff member or volunteer will fall in love and take them home. For Leon, it was love at first bite (a non-lethal, minor snake bite that is).”
Leon got a second chance after a journey that started in the spring. He was surrendered because his past owner’s lease only allowed for a limited number of pets, the shelter wrote in its social media post and in an email to McClatchy News.
“Surrendered alongside another dog, he arrived at our shelter deeply stressed and overwhelmed,” the humane society wrote. “He spun anxiously, chewed on his tail, and displayed OCD-like behaviors. Life in our shelter was tough for him.”
Leon went into a foster home, where the shelter “started to see his calm, sweet side come out.” Then one day, the dog accidentally got into a slithery situation.
“A chance encounter with a snake earned him a trip to the emergency vet,” the shelter wrote. “It was just a small bite that he quickly recovered from. It turned out to be a life-changing visit: that’s where he met his future adopter.”
The clinic worker, who already owned three pets, was “determined to give Leon a chance.” Their family went through a trial program before making the adoption official.
“Our staff were so excited to see Leon get adopted,” Becca Andrews, marketing coordinator for the shelter, wrote in its email. “He had been with us since mid-May, so we were also quite relieved that the right people found him!”
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 10:06 AM with the headline "‘Sweet’ shelter dog was bitten by snake. It changed his luck for the better."
