As The Weather Heats Up, So Do Rattlesnake Warnings

LAKE ELSINORE (CBSLA)  -- With temperatures beginning to climb, so do reports of rattlesnake sightings and attacks.

CBS2's Tina Patel reported from Lake Elsinore where she spoke to one woman who is lucky her dog lived to see another day after being bitten.

Victoria Reyes says her dog is doing better now, but she wasn't sure he would make it after being bitten by a rattler in her Menifee backyard over the weekend.

"I mean, my heart dropped. I wanted to just sit there and cry," Reyes said.

Her mom says even after rushing the dog to the vet, they were worried about the danger of other snake bites.

"Immediately my first thoughts were like oh my God, I have a little girl, I have an 8-year-old at my house. Rattlesnakes in my backyard? I was like no," says Josie Ortega.

CAL FIRE says rattlesnakes become more prevalent when the weather starts to get warm.

One woman had to be hospitalized after encountering a rattlesnake in the poppy fields near Lake Elsinore on Saturday. And at least three other people have been bitten in the area over the last few weeks, authorities said.

"Most of them [happen] because people venture outside of the trail itself and go try to hike in the grassy area," says CAL FIRE's Capt. Fernando Herrera.

It's harder to see snakes in those areas and if people aren't wearing protective shoes or clothing a bite can be dangerous.

"[The poison] takes effect immediately. People can have obviously pain, redness, they can have blurred vision, vomiting, nausea," Herrera said.

Victoria and her  mom know they're lucky their dogs got care immediately. Now they want to warn others what could be lurking outside.

"They got bit in my backyard. they weren't out there in some field. It happens," Reyes said.

Snake bites can be treated -- but the quicker you get treatment, the better.

Patel says the best thing you can do is remain calm -- if your heart rate increases the venom will spread more quickly throughout your body.