Woman saves dog from 3 metre python

UK dog lovers can be thankful they don’t live in Australia, where threats to small dogs such as the Australian Carpet Python are commonplace in rural areas. This last week one Australian woman, Brenda van Bovene from Goicoechea, had to leap to the rescue of her little dog, an Australian Silky Terrier, when she heard her cries of distress coming from the garden.

Five foot one inch Brenda ran into the garden to find a 3 metre long carpet python twisting itself around her 11 year old dog, with intentions on making a lunch of the dog. Brenda bravely leapt at the snake and grabbed it by the tail, before wrestling with it until it released her dog. The python then made a bolt for cover, hiding under a barbeque.

Brenda explained:

“I was in the study and Tammy was making this terrible noise.

I’ve heard it once before … it’s a horrible sound, a really bad stress signal, so I ran outside to investigate.

“I’m only 5ft 1 inch and it looked twice as big as me – it was a huge snake.”

Brenda fought with the snake as she was desperate to protect her dog. She explained how the whole thing seemed to happen very quickly:

“It was all a bit of a blur, I just did the first thing that came to mind.

I managed to grab the tail and start to pull in the opposite direction. The snake coiled tighter but eventually let go to (flee) beneath the barbecue.”

Her fight with the snake alerted her neighbours (pun intended) who ran to her aid and managed to bundle the snake into a pillowcase, before releasing it in a less inhabited area.

Brenda went on to warn that unless something was done about the grassy areas around their homes, more snakes would find themselves in residential areas and someone would get hurt.

“This was the 13th snake we’ve had in the past six to eight weeks.

All the (environment) conditions are the same as they were last year when we saw none, except for the state of the grass.

Something needs to be done by residents, or if they won’t, council, and they can send them the bill.

A snake (as big as that which attacked Tammy) could easily do the same to an infant.”

Leanne Thompson