CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A family who lost their precious pet has a warning for everyone after their dog was attacked by a copperhead snake on their front porch.
"We heard Maple, our miniature schnauzer, start crying and didn't know what happened," said dog owner Sarah Johnson. "We didn't find out unfortunately until about 10-12 hours later that it was a copperhead."
By that time it was too late. Sarah and her husband Brandon Johnson said the venom from the baby copperhead that attacked their dog spread too far. The anti-venom the vet used didn't work.
"They shaved her back leg and saw two marks and they said the fang marks were from the snake," said Brandon.
The copperhead was hiding in the pine needles just outside their house, which is coincidentally right next to a children's playground.
Felipe Griffith of A-1 Wildlife Control says he's already noticed an uptick in snake calls.
"Probably five or six snake calls in the last two weeks which is uncommon for this time of year," said Felipe Griffith, a technician at A-1 Wildlife Control.
For Felipe, that's a red flag and could be a pre-cursor of what's to come this summer.
"This many calls this soon it kind of shows us that the summer is probably going to be a lot more active," said Griffith.
Experts say don't wait until then to be cautious. That's why Sarah and Brandon wanted to share their story so what happened to them doesn't happen to anyone else.
"Our story needed to be on the news to get the word out that it is warm it is hot and that snakes are out and unfortunately they will take lives," said Sarah.