I have no problem with snakes unless one startles me. In that case I can't be responsible for what happens.
I only kill poisonous snakes if they are near our house. These are mostly copperheads and every dog we've oned in the last 40 years have been bitten, some hot bites, some not...and never during office hours of our vet. Closes emergency vet is over an hour away and by the time we could get there, if the bite were deadly it would be too late. Our vet told us to give the dog Benedryl, watch the dog closely and bring it in the next morning for antibiotic shot. None have dies, all have gotten sick for a few days but all have come through without permanent damage. Our 2 1/2 year old, Maggie, warned me about a copperhead in the yard 2 weeks ago and as far as I know she's never seen one.
When we lived in Bluffton, SC on the southern coast, we were remodeling our kitchen. I came home from work and my wife said their was a surprise for me under the bucket in the kitchen; a 3' copperhead. A few weeks later I found 4 very small copperheads in the hall going to our bedroom. I dispatched them and never told my wife or daughter about them.
We've lived in rural areas for our 40 years together so we are both used to encounters with wildlife, friendly or threatening and dealt with the situations accordingly.
