Patty Kothe was walking her dog in her Florida neighborhood around noon Thursday when she received a concerning phone call.”My neighbor called me and told me, ‘Do not open your front door,'” Kothe said. “He goes, ‘There is a six-foot rattlesnake outside your front door.’ And I said ‘OK’, figuring I’ll never leave my front door again.”Kothe returned home through the garage and called Martin County Animal Control. “When we arrived, sure enough, it was just basking right there on her welcome mat,” said Animal Control Officer Tabitha Queen.And so Queen and two other officers began the process of making the rattlesnake feel unwelcome.”In this situation, the snake had quite confidently hunkered down,” Queen said. “So, it was clear we needed to intervene.”Using snake tongs, the officers were able to grab the snake and carry him towards a bucket.On multiple occasions, the snake tried to squirm loose, even lunging once in what appeared to be an effort to bite someone.”He did not go happily,” Kothe said. “He didn’t go happily at all.”In the end, the officers were able to get the snake into the bucket and drive him about a mile away to a more rattlesnake-friendly habitat, where they released him.Queen said this is the time of year when snake sightings become more common.The weather is warmer and snakes are becoming more active.Queen advises anyone who encounters a rattlesnake to leave it alone and call animal control if you need to have the snake removed. She said rattlesnakes can be deadly and is grateful Kothe’s neighbor had warned her about her uninvited guest.”If she would have stepped out and accidentally stepped on it, she could have gotten bit,” Queen said. “So, it could’ve created a potentially dangerous situation.”It was more than just potentially dangerous for Kothe.It was terrifying.”It took me like two hours after they left to calm down,” she said. “It was crazy!”
Patty Kothe was walking her dog in her Florida neighborhood around noon Thursday when she received a concerning phone call.
“My neighbor called me and told me, ‘Do not open your front door,'” Kothe said. “He goes, ‘There is a six-foot rattlesnake outside your front door.’ And I said ‘OK’, figuring I’ll never leave my front door again.”
Kothe returned home through the garage and called Martin County Animal Control.
“When we arrived, sure enough, it was just basking right there on her welcome mat,” said Animal Control Officer Tabitha Queen.
And so Queen and two other officers began the process of making the rattlesnake feel unwelcome.
“In this situation, the snake had quite confidently hunkered down,” Queen said. “So, it was clear we needed to intervene.”
Using snake tongs, the officers were able to grab the snake and carry him towards a bucket.
On multiple occasions, the snake tried to squirm loose, even lunging once in what appeared to be an effort to bite someone.
“He did not go happily,” Kothe said. “He didn’t go happily at all.”
In the end, the officers were able to get the snake into the bucket and drive him about a mile away to a more rattlesnake-friendly habitat, where they released him.
Queen said this is the time of year when snake sightings become more common.
The weather is warmer and snakes are becoming more active.
Queen advises anyone who encounters a rattlesnake to leave it alone and call animal control if you need to have the snake removed.
She said rattlesnakes can be deadly and is grateful Kothe’s neighbor had warned her about her uninvited guest.
“If she would have stepped out and accidentally stepped on it, she could have gotten bit,” Queen said. “So, it could’ve created a potentially dangerous situation.”
It was more than just potentially dangerous for Kothe.
It was terrifying.
“It took me like two hours after they left to calm down,” she said. “It was crazy!”
