The 3-year-old dog puffed up dramatically due to a reaction from being bitten by what was likely an Eastern diamondback rattler, the largest venomous snake on the continent, and had to fight for her life.
When she finally arrived home after two weeks in intensive care and multiple surgeries, a tongue-wagging Cali bounced out of the back of the family's SUV and immediately began sniffing around familiar territory.
"She's ready to go exploring again," said Connie Schmitt, 45, as she snapped pictures of Friday's homecoming. It was a special moment for Schmitt; her husband, Mike; and their four boys at home, who weren't sure their first dog would survive.
"A lot of doctors didn't think she was going to make it," said Michael Schmitt, 15. "She's been a really cool, awesome dog. She's part of the family, you know."
The youngest boy, Zach, 8, made a sign for the front door that read: "Welcome Home Cali. Go Gators." Cali was much thinner, scarred and a little dazed, but the boys said she looked better than a few days ago.
"She looks like a dog again," Connie Schmitt said.
The Schmitts first rushed the dog to a veterinary emergency clinic in Leesburg after the snake encounter July 5.
"We thought maybe she needed some antivenin and she'd be fine and come home that night," Connie Schmitt said. "Her will to live has been incredible. That's what kept us going: She kept on pushing through."
Retired veterinarian Michael Schaer of Gainesville, who volunteered to treat Cali at the UF animal hospital, said it was one of the worst snake-bite cases he has seen. Cali went under the knife several times after the venom spread and she suffered allergic reactions to the antivenin, including a drop in blood pressure, rapid breathing and swelling of the joints and limbs.
"She had a face like a pumpkin — just real swollen," said Schaer, who has been treating snake bites at the hospital for three decades.
Veterinary surgeons last week removed an 8-inch-diameter section of dead tissue — the size of a small pizza. They closed the wound Thursday, and the allergic reactions are finally wearing off.
"She has survived," Schaer said. "She's an amazing little dog."
It was quite an ordeal for Cali. During her stay at the UF hospital, the dog received more than 20 antivenin vials.
"We kept thinking, 'This is the last one,' " Connie Schmitt said of the antivenin vials, which cost $300 apiece.
The family has been using social media, including Facebook and YouTube, to raise money to cover medical expenses, which likely will amount to $20,000, said the mom, who home-schools and works seasonally at Walt Disney World as a candy maker.
They've raised nearly enough money to cover the bills, said Mike Schmitt, 39, who works in sales for a company that handles document storage and destruction for hospitals. Money left over will be donated to the UF animal hospital's Pet Samaritan Fund, he said.
Cali, who will no longer be allowed outside without a leash, wandered into the Schmitts' yard — and their hearts — a couple of years ago with ear and eye infections, fleas and worms. She could barely take a few steps before collapsing. They rescued her and nursed her back to health.
Then came the snake bite.
Connie Schmitt said the family couldn't give up on Cali.
"She made such an impact on us," she said. "We never realized the bond an animal and an owner had until we had her."
(Orlando Sentinel - July 21, 2012)
