LANSING STATE JOURNAL (Michigan) 05 April 08 'Audacious' thief takes snake: Preuss Animal House camera shows boa slipped inside pants (John Schneider)
What do you call a woman who drops an 18- to 22-inch boa constrictor into her pants?
A thief.
On Thursday afternoon, security cameras at Preuss Animal House, in Lansing's Old Town, recorded what store officials believe was a customer reaching into a glass case, withdrawing a snake and stuffing it where the sun doesn't shine.
"Audacious," was how Jayzun Boget, assistant manager of Preuss' reptile department, described the alleged heist of the snake, worth about $175.
Lansing police, who have a copy of the videotape, said Friday the incident was under investigation.
Rick Preuss, owner of the pet store, said Boget had been answering the customer's questions, then turned his back on the woman to help another customer.
Preuss said the woman opened the door of the case, reached in and grabbed one of five young boa constrictors, tucked it away, then left the store.
Preuss said the customer was in no danger of being harmed by the snake, and thought the snake also could survive the rough treatment.
"They like warmth, and don't mind tight spots," Preuss said.
But on the whole, he worried more about the boa constrictor.
"I'm far less concerned about the person, than about the snake," he said.
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804050330
WILX (Lansing, Michigan) 04 April 08 Woman Stuffs Snake Down Pants (Lauren Zakalik)
It might sound like the punchline to a bad joke, but we're not joking.
Workers at Preuss Pets in Lansing say a woman stole a snake, and how she did it-- well, it's one for the books.
"We've got some great pictures," says longtime employee Jayzun Boget. "It shows her taking the snake out, shoving it down her pants-- it's been the source of endless jokes here."
The video is a little difficult to see, but shop owner Rick Preuss say it's clear she's reaching into the cage and stuffing the snake down her pants. He says the woman had been in the store for some time, staking out the cage.
"In some ways, I wish it were this really big snake going down her pants [so you could see it better]. Instead what you see is a quick view from the camera" of the snake pattern, he says.
They say the snake the woman stole was pretty young, only about six months old. It was too young to be sold. Now, they say they're more concerned about the health and welfare of the snake than prosecuting the thief.
"As long as the snake comes back in a reasonable amount of time, we're not too concerned about prosecuting," Preuss says.
The $175 snake is a boa constrictor that'll grow to be 12 feet long.
"It's deadly serious, we're heartbroken. But there's something imminently funny about a woman sticking a snake down her pants in public," Boget says.
Workers might snicker at how the snake was stolen, but they want it back.
http://www.wilx.com/news/headlines/17307059.html
