A loving dog owner has been left in disbelief after her pet was bitten by adder after her daughter took it for a walk round Washingborough.

Helen Kidson's 8-year-old greyhound Penny suddenly stopped, laid on the ground and refused to move during the walk last Saturday, May 16.

Her daughter then rang Helen and her husband for help who went out to collect them both and they realised Penny had a sore stomach.

Penny's condition then worsened and they rushed her to the vet to discover she had been bitten by an adder.

Her temperature then rose to dangerous levels and it looked like the family might lose her, but she has thankfully since started to make a recovery.

Helen told Lincolnshire Live that Penny has been left with a nasty mark on her stomach, that looks almost like it's been charred as a result of the snake's venom.

And she is astounded that her dog was bitten by the dangerous reptile while it was being walked in a relatively built-up area.

She said: "The dog went out for a walk with one of our kids and they rang up to say that she'd somehow hurt herself and she wouldn't move.

"This was last Saturday, Penny then got poorly quite quickly and we had to take her to the emergency vets.

"We discovered on Tuesday, that she'd been bitten by a snake - an adder in Washingborough.

"She's fine now but it was touch and go a few days ago. She had a temperature of 40.8C on Monday and they did say if that temperature didn't come down then she might pass away.

"Fortunately she has lived to tell the tale. She is still really poorly but today has been the first day that she's had something to eat.

"She's got a massive wound on her belly, which looks like a huge burn, where she was bitten.

"The infection spread but she's getting better slowly.

"Penny was on a lead and our daughter just walked her along a grass verge.

"She was with a friend and they were walking towards her house, they walked on the grass verged and think it happened there.

"There's a little cul-de-sac in Washingborough, it's in quite a built up area."

Penny the greyhound is recovering from her attack

She said: "I was really surprised. You'd never imagine it. There aren't any visible bite marks on our dog because the damage is so severe her belly is like a big black mark now.

"She's a greyhound so has quite a long stomach anyway and most of that is brown and black. It looks a bit like it's charred where the infection has been.

"You can't actually see where the bite was.

"There wasn't ever a moment where my daughter saw a snake. I think she was too busy talking to her friend. The dog didn't react straight away.

"It just sat down a few moments later and just wouldn't move.

"It was only then that she rang myself and her dad. She said that the dog won't move and I don't know why.

"My husband went out to get the dog and she was sore on her stomach but at that time we had no idea why.

"We couldn't see any marks or anything. It's only as she got gradually unwell that we took her to the vets.

"That night she deteriorated quite quickly after then and was at the vets in our village really poorly.

"She was shaking, had a temperature, she wouldn't eat and was generally in a lot of pain.

"The dog was just lying there really lethargic and lifeless. We were helpless."

Penny the greyhound is recovering from her attack

Now Helen wants other dog walkers to be vigilant in the village after their scary ordeal.

She said: "I just want people to be aware when walking their dog. We would've never thought about a snake biting our dog in Washingborough.

"If we knew that it could happen in an area like this the  we'd be much more careful walking through grass verges.

"Of course the council aren't out much at the moment cutting the grass verges and they're longer than they would be normally.

"You don't always look at where the dog is walking, not round the village anyway.

"Penny nearly died and it's left us with a massive vet bill.

"The thought that we could've lost her is awful really."