Posted on 07/02/2009 8:04:26 AM PDT by Kaslin
A distraught caller trying to save the life of a 2-year-old Florida girl strangled by a pet python screams "The baby's dead!" in chilling 911 tapes released in the toddler's death.
Shaiunna Hare died early Wednesday morning after being attacked in her crib by the snake, which escaped from its aquarium, police said.
"The baby's dead!" a sobbing caller from the house screamed to a 911 dispatcher. "Our stupid snake got out in the middle of the night and strangled the baby."
Authorities did not identify the caller and removed the person's name from the recording.
"She got out of the cage last night and got into the baby's crib and strangled her to death," the caller says in the tape.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Oh so true, it wasn’t the SNAKE that was stupid. STUPID. Glad that little girl doesn’t have to grow up with someone so ignorant.
But I think there is at least the possibility that the live-in boyfriend placed the snake in the crib and that the mother is either buying his lies or is in on it too.
Odds of this being the case? Probably less than 5%. But the police should investigate, and I'm sure they will.
Biggest keu here is that the snake was not in a terrarium ( confined climate controlled and inescapable unless the sides and tops are broken). The snake was in a bag in an UNLOCKED CAGE....end of story and baby. Life in the electric chair
“When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.”
My mind cannot process the senselessness and horror of this tragedy. All I can do is offer prayers.
As long as you take proper care of it they aren't paticularly dangerous. Unfortunately, few people move past "snakes are cool" to "I'd better know how to take care of it." They tend to use cages that are insufficiently secured, and tend to feed the snake too infrequently. My nephew has one and he's ultra-conscientious about it.
And, of course, it's incredibly stupid to keep one while there are small children or small pets in the house. These things aren't like dogs, they don't make distinctions among species, much less particular people. All they do is size up animals as prey or threats. The article says that there was no lock on the cage, BTW.
And here is the story in the British press: Horror as two-year-old girl is strangled to death by 8ft pet python
More pictures, inclding the snake with bloody stab marks on it, at the link.
Well, consider this: In Florida you have to get a permit to own one. I’m betting the permit includes proving you know what to do with the bloody thing. So, it’s being placed with someone who knows what they’re doing. Also, this snake is not “broken” in the way a dog that mauls someone is. The snake’s brain is a sinmple little object, and all it does is size up animals as threats or potential prey. A dog who starts attacking people has something wrong with it and needs to be put down, because it will almost certainly keep doing it. Meanwhile, that snake is no more or less likely to kill another human than it was the day it was born. It’s pretty much a robot.
Exactly. It is inconvenient to post stories about pet dogs that do the same thing on a daily basis across the country.
Remember the story a few years back about the boa that chomped down on his adult owners rear end and wouldn’t let go? IIRC, it took about five or six husky firefighters and cops to pull the snake off the womans butt!
Yep. Hang the boyfriend, prosecute the mom and adopt out the kids.
Ping to post 48 for lots of pictures at the link of the long, long snake and the stooooopid parents.
Did I not predict the tattoos? HAH!
Actually, my wife and I refer to our new daughter as “the baby” all the time. The callers use of that phrase means nothing.
I do.
Why is that a problem?
You’d have to be REALLY STUPID to keep that snake in the house with a toddler.
Would it be better if it were kept as a dog? ;-)
Seriously though, people keep all kinds of serious baby threats. The most common is dogs. Dogs are carnivores. While most pose no real threat to an adult human (especially if they are the master), many are potential killers of children.
Any dog larger than a baby could easily kill one, should they decide to do so. Even many smaller dogs and house cats could kill a baby, with a bit more effort. Many babies and small children are killed by pets, every year.
Boyfriend looks pregnant too
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.