Python Stalked, Then Ate Family Dog in Front of Children

[The Instructor]

BRISBANE, Australia — A 16-foot python stalked a family dog for days before swallowing the pet whole in front of horrified children in the Australian tropics, animal experts said Wednesday.

The boy and girl, aged 5 and 7, watched as the scrub python devoured their silky terrier-Chihuahua crossbreed Monday at their home near Kuranda in Queensland state.

Stuart Douglas, owner of the Australian Venom Zoo in Kuranda, said scrub pythons typically eat wild animals such as wallabies, a smaller relative of the kangaroo, but sometimes turn to pets in urban areas.

"It actively stalked the dog for a number of days," Douglas said.

"The family that owned the dog had actually seen it in the dog's bed, which was a sign it was out to get it," he added.

"They should have called me then, but (the snake) got away and three or four days later, I was called and went around and removed it" after the dog had been killed, Douglas said.

By the time Douglas arrived, all that could be seen of the dog was its hind legs and tail.

The zoo manager, Todd Rose, said pythons squeeze their prey to death before swallowing it whole. The 5-year-old dog would have been suffocated within minutes.

"The lady who was there threw some plastic chairs at the snake, but you've got to remember that this is about 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of aggressive muscle," Rose said.

Removing the half-swallowed dog could have harmed or even killed the python, Rose said, because dogs have sharp teeth and claws that could do the snake internal damage if it were wrenched out.

The snake was still digesting the dog at the zoo Wednesday. It will soon be relocated to the bush, Douglas said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,332913,00.html

[ballparent]

That would make for some interesting dinner conversation at the family table.

[The Instructor]

I wouldn't be able to eat dinner after seeing that or hearing about it.

[moose]

Poor Rover went from a terrier on Monday to a Shih Tzu on Saturday.

[LICKING COUNTY FAN]

Just another reason we should not have these things as pets.

[biggdowgg]

yeqah,,,we would not want to hurt that snake by trying to pull the dog out...I undertsand the dog was already dead..but who the hell cares if the snake gets hurt

I kill any snake I see,,my neighbor gets mad as hell when I kill them little green ones, and the black ones

[sportsfanatic85]

Really, Who cares about the snake, what about the poor little dog.
Them kids must have been terrified! I sure would have been.

[ballparent]

Besides the fact it ate their dog, what kind of family lets a snake that size just crawl around the house loose. That's a little freaky if you ask me, well, a lot freaky. Their kids need to consider themselves lucky that the snake decided they were too big.

[Der_Kommissar1968]

When I was a kid, I found my dog eating a snake.

This is the sort of thing that happens from time to time when you own a 16 ft. python. Should they be surprised?