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Man walking dog is bitten by 2 snakes at same time

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By JOSE PATINO GIRONA

jpatino@tampatrib.com

Published: October 28, 2009

TAMPA - John Agan was doubly unlucky Tuesday - he was bitten by not one but two snakes.

Doctors think one was a coral snake and the other was a pygmy rattler.

The bites happened when Agan was out with his dog about 1:45 p.m. outside the Masters Inn at U.S. 92 and State Road 579.

His dog was near the hotel trash bin. Agan, who was wearing sandals, was standing near some boards when he got bit by two snakes at the same time.

A coral snake bit his right shin and a pygmy rattlesnake bit the top of his right foot, Agan said.

"At first when I felt the initial pinch I thought maybe it was the boards that came together because they're stacked on top of each other," Agan said. "But you know, I looked down. Shoot! I knocked it off. And I noticed the other snake down on my foot and I'm going crazy, I mean, this is really wild to have two snakes like that."
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue emergency crews responded to the scene and took Agan to the hospital.

The crew searched for the snakes but didn't find them, said Ray Yeakley, a fire rescue spokesman.

"That doesn't mean they weren't there," Yeakley said. "It just means they weren't there when we were there."

Agan said he isn't feeling, well, snake-bit about his double snakebites.

"What can I say? It's Florida," Agin said. "I was born and raised here. And I'll die here. Hopefully not by a snake bite."

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 259-7659.

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