Slither, Be Free

As most of my friends and family know, I am an animal lover. Some I do not care for, such as ferrets but I respect and appreciate them nonetheless because they too are living creatures, a part of the universe such as you and I.  That being said, I helped out a fellow creature today.  My husband was going to kill it because of its species and the fact that he had a close encounter with a cousin of the said species the other day and has been bitten by a poisonous one in years past.   You see, he has ophidiophobia , which is a fear of snakes.  Admittedly they startle me but unless they are poisonous and threaten me, I let them go on their way.  

Growing up in NW Oklahoma I instinctively know to keep a watchful eye out for the little buggers and only terminate them if they are poisonous, in my living area, and a threat to me.

That being said, last night I was awaken by my husband speaking of a snake caught in some vegetable netting in near out backyard fence.  Since it was dark I decided to wait until this morning to assess the situation.  My husband spoke of killing it but said where the snake was he could not get it with the shovel and did not want to shoot the gun so close to the house. Bless him...  Anyway, my heart ached. Seriously, I felt a pang of sorrow for the reptile lying trapped in the netting.  I really thought I had disposed of all the netting because I no longer use it to protect my vegetables from the Mockingbird.. That is another story entirely. 

Caught in Netting:

I stepped outside this morning to find the snake still tangled in the netting and still alive.  I took my time approaching the snake and locating the head. After all, poisonous or not, I do not want to get bitten.  I realized he is not only tangled in the netting but it is cutting into him in several places and without human intervention, he will die.  I took photos of the situation and then proceeded to gather my tools for freeing the snake.  I determined, with research that the snake is a Elaphe obsoleta, otherwise known as a rat snake.    I used a scrubbing brush on a broom stick to hold the snakes head down while I began removing the netting with scissors.  I did not touch the snake with my hands, only the brush and the scissors.  With each snip I remove the netting thread..

Most of Netting Removed:

Eventually, I set him free of the netting. Ahhh, a rush of relief came over me as the rat snake began to slither. Except he was coming towards me. I kept trying to get him to slither away from me, but he kept coming my way. I finally encouraged him to go under the porch. He literally looked up at me, made a left turn and slithered under the porch. He seemed to be happy. I do not know if snakes can show gratitude but he seemed to really appreciate my act.  

 

Then, like a fool, I cried.   Yes I cried big ol fat tears. I felt like an idiot, for I was crying tears of joy for the snake that will life to see another day and hopefully eat any rats that try to steal food from my grain bins.

You see, I have a love for life that goes beyond words and even snakes need love and kindness.

Now to call Hunnybun and inform him that his quarry has escaped!