REGISTER-GUARD (Eugene, Oregon) 09 August 08 Dead boa constrictor on lawn surprises man retrieving paper (Andrea Damewood)
Springfield: First there was “Snakes on a Plane,” starring Samuel L. Jackson. But Jeff Berger was shocked when he found himself in a real life sequel — snake on the lawn.
Berger stepped out on his porch at 6 a.m. Monday to grab the paper, only to be greeted by the sight of a 3½ foot boa constrictor dead on his lawn.
“It’s not something you see every day,” said Berger, 59, who operates an adult foster care home with his wife, Carol, at Fourth and C streets. “It gave me pause for thought when I was going out for the R-G that day.”
Initially, Berger poked the snake with a stick just in case “he had any fight left in him.”
After ascertaining the animal — which had bite wounds near its head — had expired, the couple called the Springfield police.
Staff at Lane County Animal Services first thought the snake on the Bergers’ lawn could be the red-tailed boa constrictor reported missing from west Eugene at the beginning of the month.
But that boa was reported to be 6½ feet in length, ruling out the Bergers’ snake.
Finding its former owner, however, could prove difficult. Carol Berger said an officer told her owning a boa constrictor is illegal in Springfield.
City code states that owning an exotic animal is forbidden unless a “permit has been issued for a carnival, circus or special event.”
The issue of illegal reptiles doesn’t crop up often, Springfield police Sgt. John Umenhofer said.
“It’s not something we deal with very frequently,” he said. “Bank robberies, theft, I could tell you all about that.”
In Eugene or in unincorporated Lane County, there are no codes against owning a snake. Loose snakes are picked up by Lane County Animal Services and kept for 35 days like any other stray, said Tom Howard, supervisor of operations.
Boas are not poisonous and are fairly docile, Howard said.
“They’re not that interested in you, they’re more afraid of you,” he said. “Snakes have this mystique with the general public is all.”
However, if someone does find a constrictor on the lam, they should “absolutely not” try and capture it, he said. Instead, they should call Animal Services “immediately.”
Although boas are relatively harmless, Berger said he wasn’t going to take any chances.
“I looked around for any mommas or papas, but the coast seemed to be pretty clear,” he said, noting the boa was as big around as his forearm.
“This thing was big enough that he could’ve taken on a small dog or a cat and definitely won.”
After waiting a few days for any word on a potential owner, the couple threw the constrictor out with Thursday’s trash.
“My wife wanted to keep it — I don’t know what her vision was. My attitude was, maybe it’s not the best thing to keep around the house,” Berger said.
“Still, it would be interesting to find out how he came to end up in our front lawn.”
Dead boa constrictor on lawn surprises man retrieving paper

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