THE DISPATCH (Lexington, N Carolina) 06 September 08 Snakes alive! Unwelcome visitor enters my house (Chad Killebrew)
"You have got to come home right now."
My wife's voice was calm but determined on the telephone a week ago Wednesday. I didn't think anything had happened to our children, because she would have been more panicked. I had caught mice in traps the previous two nights in our laundry closet, so I thought perhaps another mouse had appeared. But what she said after I asked why sent shivers down my spine:
"There's a snake in the house."
I must confess I'm one of those people who believes "the only good snake is a dead snake." A recent Our Neighbor story featured Parker Whitt, a self-described snake wrangler who visits schools to tell children about the positive attributes of snakes. Parker would try to convince me that most snakes aren't dangerous, and in this case, the snake in our house was a nonpoisonous black snake.
Still, it's one thing to see a black snake outside, but quite another to have one in your house.
My wife was home with my two sons, ages 12 and 91/2. My younger son was actually the first to spot the snake. We thought it would be fun for me to recount what actually happened interspersed with a story he wrote later about the incident. His story follow in italics.
I spotted the copperhead slithering toward my older brother. Quickly I told him about the snake. He ran off outside in peace. I ran back to the back of the house to tell Mom all was well.
Actually, my youngest did spot the black snake first as he walked from the kitchen into the den. The snake was lying along the back of a love seat in which his older brother was sitting reading - oblivious to the snake. My youngest son went screaming and running to the back of the house. It took my wife a few seconds to calm him down and find out what was happening.
My oldest took it all in stride, and simply went outside.
I quickly ran back to the den where the snake was waiting. Western showdown music played in the background, but alas, it was just my brother with the music turned up too loudly on his MP3 player.
He did make one quick foray back into the den to rescue a prized possession on the couch, but then he, too, headed outside. My wife called 911 at my request, and the sympathetic telecommunicator told her to try and get the snake to curl up on the end of a broom handle. Unfortunately, her attempt just agitated the snake, which crawled across an end table and behind a row of books on our bookshelf.
As the snake made its retreat, it slithered across my Bible lying on the table. I've told some friends there's probably some deep spiritual meaning in that (am I now supposed to become a snake handler? After all, I was born and raised in the mountains), but I haven't figured it out yet.
Thinking quickly, I grabbed Patches' (our cat) mouse squeezie toy. I lured the snake outside. After leading the snake around, animal control got here. I put the toy in a cage, and the copperhead went in and swallowed the toy. The officer then put the snake down. All was well except for one problem: Patches needed a new toy!
When I arrived home the snake was still behind the books as my wife kept a wary eye on the spot. I gingerly began removing some of my sons' cards and games in front of the books and was about to start pulling out books when I saw a welcome site: A black Davidson County Sheriff's Office truck pulling into the driveway.
Officer Charles Jones had just come on duty when the telecommunicator dispatched our call. He arrived quickly and came into the house with a catch stick, a long pole with an adjustable loop at the end. He put on some gloves and removed the books, revealing the coiled snake.
He slipped the loop around the snake's neck and pulled it tight. Our intruder coiled around the end of the stick, and Jones took him out of the house and placed him in a compartment of the truck. My sons had estimated the snake's length at about a foot; he ended up being more than two feet long. Jones said he would later release the snake in a rural area.
We still don't know how the snake entered the house. The incident occurred during the midst of the precipitation that fell from Tropical Storm Fay, so all the rain probably played a role.
Life often throws us unexpected situations, challenging us to respond in a calm and rational manner. And when we need additional help, it's comforting to know that professionals like Officer Jones are there to assist us.
While I don't mind dealing with the occasional bee in the house or even a mouse, I'd prefer the snakes to remain in their natural habitat.
Unwelcome visitor enters my house