Frieda Lives

Freida Lives….by Helena Greaney Wygal

Joe had met me in San Jose on my return from NY so we could renew our driver’s licensees and do some shopping. We were riding in the back of a cab when we got the call from Ty Kennedy. “Your dog was bitten by a rattlesnake. We are at the vet in Nicoya now. She has just been given anti-venom.”
Joe asks loudly with concern “which dog, what happened”
“The black and white one”
Joe is barely able to talk. “Frieda.” He groans.

Three weeks before, while I was still in the States, Joe was bitten on his leg by a feral cat. The wound became infected and he was isolated on the mountain, the roads impassible due to the heavy rains. Fernando Briones, and his wife Jessenia, stayed with Joe to take care of his wound and help him so he could stay off his feet. During this time, Joe became attached to Frieda, who is a loving and responsive dog. She sleeps nestled in our bed, comes when called, and is always happy and enthusiastic to see him—unconditional love, Joe calls it.

A large rattlesnake—3 feet long, we saw it after it had been killed-came into our parking lot. Frieda began playing with it and just after Ty had left our property, Fernando saw the snake bite Frieda. He immediately called Ty who called Dr. Delgado, our veterinarian, in Nicoya. Dr, Delgado told Ty that he had 2 hours to bring the dog to Nicoya so Frieda could be given the anti-venom—there was no anti-venom to be found in Nosara. . During the treacherous ride on the muddy, potholed roads to Nicoya, normally a 2 hour ride—Ty driving frantically with Frieda on Fernando’s lap did it in 1 ½. During this time Frieda’s face had swollen and she had become cold. Dr. Delgado kept his office open for Frieda. He had the medicines and IV’s ready, began treatment immediately and stayed up all night administering the anti-venom. Because of her small size and the extent of her facial swelling, Dr. Delgado was concerned and said she had a 50-50 chance of survival and we would know within 12 hours.

The next day we heard the good news that Frieda would live. And Joe said: “Now I can get back to worrying about my leg.” When we picked up Frieda two days later, she was anxious and tremulous but by the time we got her home she was her usual dog-self, playing with our new kitten, eating and sleeping with no sign of what she had been through or knowledge of how much she means to us. We thank Ty, Fernando, and Dr. Delgado for their quick thinking and life-saving actions—Frieda would thank them too if she could.