A message sent to 23ABC's Facebook page has gotten the attention of several wanting to save 2-year-old pup Annabelle after she was bitten by a rattlesnake while saving 2-year-old boy Zaylan Light Sunday evening.
Rachell Light, the owner of Annabelle and mother of Zaylan, says she was barbecuing and had just poured water for the dog on the front porch of their house in Fellows, near Derby Acres.
"I basically turned my back and my dog just started barking and my son was out there as well," said Light.
She did not see the rattlesnake bite the dog the first time, but just before Light's stepfather killed the snake, it struck Annabelle again near the face.
Light says that Annabelle did not initially shows signs of being bitten until her face began to swell up. They rushed to Bakersfield Veterinary Hospital, where Annabelle was treated with anti-venom antibiotics.
Light knows that it could have been worse.
"I'm not glad that she got bit but we live an hour away from a hospital," Light said.
"He (Zaylan) could have easily just been gone."
The community has rallied to support Light and help her with the approximately $2,000 bill for the anti-venom.
The Executive Director of No Kill Kern, Jackie Cameron posted Annabelle's story to Facebook and within hours, the funding goal to pay for the anti-venom costs was reached.
Light is overwhelmed by the support.
"I literally had no hope in anybody at all," Light said.
"With the situation that I am in financially and others, to see so many people just come together in an hour to raise as much as they did, for them to just help me the way that they did, it's amazing."
Annabelle was moving around and active this morning and her doctor said it usually takes between two to four days for a dog to recover from a rattlesnake bite.
