ST PETERSBURG TIMES (Florida) 09 October 05 Family uneasy after run-in with venomous rattlers - Neighbors kill one snake that slithered up to a home. A dog finds another and gets bit on the nose. (Jon Wilson)
Pinellas Park: During a nerve-jangling half-hour, residents killed a rattlesnake near a front door and hunted a second rattler that bit a family dog across the street.
Just after dark on Sept. 30, a rattlesnake fat as a fire hose nearly 6 feet long crept onto a porch on 72nd Street N.
Neighbors used sticks and a shovel to dispatch the venomous reptile, said Jim Albright, who lives at 7085 72nd St. N. They cut off its head and took photos.
A few minutes later, Albright's son Travis, 10, reported that one of the family's dogs, a black Labrador, appeared to have been bitten in the Albrights' back yard.
"He said, "Daisy's bleeding all over the place,' " Albright said.
Dawson, the Albrights' springer spaniel, was "going crazy" at the fence, Albright said.
They never saw that snake. But a veterinarian at an animal emergency clinic confirmed the bite and administered antivenin, Albright said.
Daisy, who had puncture marks on her nose, has survived after being given a 50-50 chance, Albright said. The vet bill was about $2,400. Daisy's nose is still a bit puffy; swelling on her neck has gone down a little. Rattlesnakes typically are secretive, preferring to avoid both humans and animals. It is unusual to see one in a residential area, let alone two in a short period.
Henry Mushinsky, a snake expert at the University of South Florida, said one of the snakes might have been following the other as part of a mating quest.
Mushinsky cautioned that he was making a guess. But the biology professor said the across-the-street distance is within reason.
"It's not uncommon to find a female and male together," Mushinsky said.
Meanwhile, residents are uneasy about a thicket that cuts through their placid neighborhood, which is home to numerous pets and perhaps a dozen children age 12 or younger.
Oaks, pines and palmettos, accompanied by assorted vines and underbrush, fill a strip between 72nd Street and Belcher Road.
It offers a small wildlife habitat, but has been a haven for humans, too. Transients who live outdoors have found shelter there. Until a few days ago, several had a camp, enhanced with a plywood floor. Men had set it up perhaps 50 feet from the Albrights' back yard.
Deputies from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office visited and made the transients move. Empty cigarette packs and dented beer cans remain.
The Albrights would like the thicket cleared. They have talked to officials on several levels to determine who should do the job.
The Pinellas County government appears to be first in line. Its employees already maintain a space near the Cross Bayou Canal, which also cuts through the neighborhood, Albright said.
The county contacted the Albrights last week.
John Holt of the public works department said Friday a solution is being sought.
Family uneasy after run-in with venomous rattlers