A WOMAN carried her sick dog two and a half miles to get treatment after it was bitten by an adder on Dartmoor last Friday afternoon.

Working cocker spaniel Tilly was bitten on the face and the neck at Fox Tor Girt at Whiteworks near Princetown.

The incident was witnessed by owner Helen Coles who noticed almost immediately the swelling on Tilly's face and her body going limp.

'I knew I had to carry her to save her life so the poison would not circulate around her body,' said Helen, who only weighs seven and a half stone herself.

'I kept collapsing under her weight and thought I was never going to make it back to the car but I must have found inner strength to carry on.'

A 'good Samaritan' in a LandRover transported Helen and three-year-old Tilly to her car and she drove straight to Drake Vets where the dog was treated and kept in intensive care for 18 hours.

Helen said in 30 years of walking dogs none of her animals had ever been bitten until now.

Vet Chris Jones said adder bites were not that common but the most important thing was to keep the dog calm: 'Generally, dogs do not die from an adder bite but they can get anaphylactic shock. The swelling can cause a closure of the airways so it is important to get them to a vet as soon as possible. They can also get infections as a result of the bite.'

Mr Jones said adders liked wooded areas and basking on rocks and there were some areas of Dartmoor where they were more common like Two Bridges and Whiteworks.

'They are seen in out of the way areas and are quite scared creatures. If they bite they are protecting themselves or their young and dogs being dogs often get bitten on the face as they have a habit of sticking their noses where they should not.'

As for Tilly she is getting plenty of TLC and her treatment will be followed up by blood tests to keep an eye on potential infection.

Helen expressed thanks to the 'good samaritan' whose name she does not know and the staff at Drake Vets.