That's Lucy's good side Mark photoed. The doctor had to lance the infected abcess, which came about as the result of some kind of puncture wound. So, it's not due to venom from a snakebite, but could still be from a snake.

Sometimes dogs can get punctures on the insides of their cheeks and throat from sticks. Carrying them in their mouth and bumping into things. Hope she feels better soon

Poor Lucy! Hope she is healed up soon. Dogs can sure run into trouble. And non venomous snakes can still cause infection. Our dog Tucker developed an abcess on the top of his snout, and within days, the entire area erupted... We called it his nose explosion. It was very nasty looking. The vet believed it was some kind of auto immune reaction, and he would need steroids the rest of his life. But we believed that it was from an earlier (6 months or so) encounter with a porcupine. We think spines broke off in the roof of his mouth and eventually worked their way up to the surface, causing the abcess.the vet was very surprised that it eventually healed up.

Glad to hear that it doesn't seem to be anything major. Animals who live outside certainly seem to find their share of trouble to get into from time to time. We've learned how important it is to have a good relationship with a local vet.