A report of a venomous snake that may have bitten two dogs in Attleborough, Massachusetts, has not been confirmed and is likelier to be a common, harmless snake that was misidentified, according to the state’s wildlife agency.
The city and its fire department last week urged the public be careful in the area of Ten Mile River by Milk Street over the over a possible copperhead snake sighting. The snakes do live in Massachusetts, but are rarely encountered, and typically only in Norfolk and Hampden counties.
City officials shared a picture they’d been given of the snake with MassWildlife, the agency said, and the state herpetologist, or reptile expert, determined it showed a northern watersnake, not a copperhead. The two species can often be mistaken for one another.
There has never been a confirmed copperhead sighting in the area around Attleborough, according to MassWildlife — the endangered species has only been found in a few parts of the state, and few people will ever encounter one in the wild in Massachusetts.
A venomous snake may have bitten two dogs in Attleborough, Massachusetts, city officials said Wednesday, urging residents to be careful.