A YORKSHIRE terrier was left unrecognisable after she was bitten by an adder in Studland.

The poisonous snake bite saw Chloe’s head swell to twice its normal size, with black bruising eclipsing her face.

She could barely open her mouth to breathe and her eyes had completely disappeared.

However, she has now recovered after emergency care from Vets Now staff in Bournemouth who administered anti-venom serum to save her life.

And Chloe’s return to health is partly due to the tender loving care she got from her sister, a Red Setter called Lily.

Chloe and Lily’s owner Ray Peck said: “The staff at Vets Now did a brilliant job of looking after Chloe — and Lily definitely helped out afterwards.

“They’re two totally different dogs — one little, one large — but Lily could tell something was wrong and really mothered her when she came home.”

The snake drama began when Ray and wife Denise were staying at a holiday house in Studland on the Dorset coast, where adders are such a regular feature that there are signs up warning of their presence.

Chloe was playing with Lily in the garden when suddenly she came back into the house visibly distressed and beginning to swell — followed by Lily, who seemed to sense something was badly wrong.

Initially, Ray and wife Denise thought Chloe, who is four years old and weighs just three kilos, had been stung by a wasp.

Ray continued: “We soon realised it was much worse than a wasp bite as her head was getting bigger by the minute.

“We’ve stayed in the house before and we saw an adder in the garden last year so we realised very quickly what had happened. It’s pretty much adder central down there.

“The garden had just been cut back and we think the adder has maybe been dislodged while that work was going on.”

Ray and Denise rushed Chloe to the Vets Now pet emergency clinic in Bournemouth on the recommendation of local vets in Swanage, a short drive from the holiday house.

Senior nurse Catherine Rose and senior vet Natasha Siviter explained to Ray and Denise that, given the severity of her symptoms, Chloe may benefit from anti-venom.

Catherine said: “In a very small number of cases, anti-venom can lead to anaphylactic seizure, which we had to talk Ray and Denise through.

“After weighing up the risks against the benefits, Ray and Denise gave us their permission to go ahead while also providing supportive treatment.

“If we hadn’t given the anti-venom then there was a chance Chloe wouldn’t have made it through, partly because she is just so little and the bite was so severe.”