Please pray for rattlesnake hibernation!

I've taught school for 21 years in a small rural community. Many times, the roads out here are a dumping ground for people's unwanted pets. A friend that I work with lost her dog last summer due to old age. It was very sad. I didn't think that my friend would ever be able to handle having a new dog. Low and behold, a stray came along that looks a lot like her dog that had died. My friend named him Ranger because that is our school mascot. We are the Greenwood Rangers. Over the past few months, she has become very, very attached to Ranger. We haven't had any really cold weather (it has averaged about 75 degrees all during the holidays) and the rattlesnakes must be very angry. They are showing up everywhere. Poor Ranger got bit. He has had a reaction to the anti venom but seems to be doing better now. The large animal vet out here is seeing quite a few dogs with rattlesnake bites right now.