Twenty-seven-year-old Justin Miller said a /*copperhead*/ bit him when he grabbed his dog's water bowl from his backyard off of Lead Mine Road.
The bite landed him in the hospital for five days and huge blisters formed on his finger. He needed six viles of anti-venom.
At one point, the graphic artist said he thought the bite was going to cost him his career.
"There was talk that I might lose this finger, there was talk that I might lose this hand just because of how intense the swelling and reaction was," Miller said.
Experts at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences say copperheads usually aren't aggressive. The one that bit Miller may have mistaken his finger for prey. The snake may have also been searching for water out of the dog's bowl.
Experts say it's best to leave snakes alone if you encounter them because the animal will usually slither away.
