Friday, May 26, 2006

I'm like the Pied Piper for Rat Snakes

After my last appointment today, my nurse Paige said to me, "You gotta come see this! Quick! Its not an emergency or anything, but come here!" I followed her out the front door of our practice, which is in a strip mall. Slithering along the front windows of our clinic, I instantly recognized a RAT SNAKE. Ya know, the kind I've been seeing around my house. Now, 20+ miles away at my job site is another one. The people who work at the Chinese restaurant next door were watching it but cowering at a distance.

"Go get a bucket!" I said, "I'll get it!" This guy had pretty spots on his back,and he was also pretty pissed. We put the trash can in front of him, but he wouldn't go in it, so I grabbed his tail, of course. He lunged at me, but I jumped out of the way. My smart nurse had brought out the trash can and a large stretcher to use as a lid for the can. With the snake in one hand and the stretcher in the other, I tried to convince the snake to go in the white can. "Smash him with the stretcher!" Leah said. Brilliant idea - I pegged him with the stretcher about 10 inches below his head, someone else put the can in front of him, and you bet he went willingly into the trash can.

We carried him triumphantly through the clinic out to the green belt behind the parking lot. While Susan did Steve Irwin impressions ("Doc-tah Mah-tin catches the most poisonous snahke in ahll of Awe-stralia!") some of our coworkers looked on with some annoyance (they were actually trying to practice medicine, not wrangle snakes).

We snapped these photos at the snake release:


Snake in office white paper recycle bin.


Posing in my lab coat and all!

My photographer Jimi said, "Get a little closer!"


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Often I'm amazed and thrilled at people who have blogrolled me. Check out this hilarious video from someone who likes me, she really, really likes me.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe the snake followed you from home (insert ominous music here)...

Anonymous said...

hahahaha go get 'em ,Girl!!! good story,Jenn. xx

Anonymous said...

hahahaha go get 'em ,Girl!!! good story,Jenn. xx Have sent these comments once but it is asking me to do it again...so I will :o)

Anonymous said...

Yes, I'm with Leigh-Ann on this one, I too reckon he followed you from home (he thinks you're his mummy - aaaahhhh!!!!) XXX

peevish said...

This is a good story, Jenn! You are such an Amazon!

Anonymous said...

Go Jenn, Go!
Your list of talents is endless......and snake catching happens to be one of them. A skill, I might add, your perfecting thanks to the rat snakes infiltrating Austin!!

XOXOXOXOXOXO!

peevish said...

Also, that video? It is Awesome!

Emily said...

Maybe you should expand your practice to include snakes...they might be seeking you out for your professional advice!

Vetmommy said...

Em, I do NOT want to see snakes in practice! I am very happy with dogs and cats and pocket pets. Snakes just don't inspire me, plus most of their problems are husbandry related, ie bad-owneritis.

I'll just stick to being a snake wrangler! Yee haw!

The Library Lady said...

I think you are going to have to add "Snake Lady" to your blog title. Or at least put a snake around the title!

Anonymous said...

Hi...

I am from Singapore and have been reading your blog for a few weeks now. Your posts are very interesting.

I hope that I will have as a good a time being a vet when I finish vet school in America.

= ) Christine