Ssssssstupidity Ends Child's Life

I realize I'm going to catch it from someone out there who is going to go on about how I "just don't understand".  Or from someone who wants to lecture me about how "they make great pets."

Bullshit.

A 2 year old child in Florida is dead because her mother, and mom's boyfriend, Charles,  thought an 8 foot python is a good pet.  (Of course, he did not have a permit for the animal.  Who needs to bother with niggly details like that?)

Yesterday, little Shaiunna Hare was found strangled to death in her crib by the family's pet python which had escaped from its cage in the night.  She also had bite marks on her head.

The 911 caller is heard screaming, "The baby's dead!  Our stupid snake got out in the middle of the night and strangled the baby."

Sorry, but the snake isn't stupid.  The adults who owned the snake are stupid plus some.

Cats.  Dogs.  Ferrets.  Hamsters.  Fish.  Those are housepets.  A Burmese python is NOT.

My heart goes out to that poor child.  May she rest in peace.  As for the adults in her life?   This is a huge price to pay for some common sssssssssense.

Comments

[Dorothy]

Stupid snake? Uh, NO. I believe it was just doing what comes naturally to 8ft Pythons. Not to diminish the pain and sorrow this mother is experiencing, I wouldn't want to live with that but these are they gambles one takes when having a natural predator as a house pet. Such a preventable tragedy.

[Katy]

When I first read this story, I had to google burmese python, to see what I could learn about them. They are constrictors, and have been known to grow large enough to kill an adult human being. When you do an image search, it shows one that swallowed a pregnant sheep WHOLE. Yep, I would agree, the STUPID people are the parents who thought this was a good idea for a house pet. One report I read on this story said that the snake had escaped earlier in the day, so Mr. Intellect put the snake in a bag, and then back in the UNLOCKED aquarium. My heart goes out to that little girl that could do nothing, probably not even scream for help, as this lovely "pet" squeezed her to death.

[Alexandra]

Wow, I don't know what to say. I even keep our cat away from the baby.

[Bobbsey]

This story upset me so much when I heard it yesterday. People can be so incredibly stupid. But the fact that he didn't have a permit for a creature that he KNEW was a predator makes it criminal in my mind - not just neglect.

[Fran]

Alexandra, that's what I thought, too. My grandmother used to think cats "drew the breath" out of babies, so she used to make sure my mom keep us away from the cat. (I believe that old wive's tale comes from the fact that cats sniff around babies' mouths because of the milk on them.) But anyway, this is such a horrific story. Stupid people suck.

[Paul]

I saw this story this morning, and can only echo what Linda said -- A PYTHON IS NOT A PET. It's a wild animal with virtually no innate intelligence which operates on instinct and naturally kills other creatures for food (no such thing as a vegetarian snake; they're ALL carnivores). When I was a teenager I kept a couple of bull snakes over the summer for our science class, but these snakes were six feet long and weighed about five pounds, and there were NO children younger than 14 any where near them. I'm not afraid of snakes, but come on. Use a little common sense. A python is a BIG snake (the reticulated python can grow to 30 feet) and they're incredibly powerful. Stupid, stupid, stupid....

[Vickie in IN]

Don't mean to ruffle any feathers, but EEEEEEWWWWWWWW I hate snakes! AND I'll never understand why anyone on earth would want one, particularly a constrictor or anything venimous, as a pet. I know they have their place on earth but why can't people just leave them in their own environment where they belong? I pray this poor child did not suffer.

[Chrisk]

I wonder if these people are going to face AT LEAST neglect charges. I think they should be charged with something.

[Theresa from Virginia]

I have to agree with Vickie in IN - EEEEEEWWWWWWWW!

And who in their right mind would want a snake lurking around in the house anyway, especially around children? Stupid and selfish!

[Kerry]

I personally don't believe people should be allowed to breed/sell/import any kind of invasive exotic in the US. Snakes, jungle cats, etc. No one "needs" to have a snake - there's just not any rational reason. It is a curiosity and a wild animal, not a pet. They should be outlawed.

And what happens when people decide they don't want to keep the snake that was originally 2 ft long and cute, but is now 14 ft long? The fools here in FL let them out into the wild, usually the Everglades. They say the Everglades may now have up to 150,000 non-indiginous snakes like pythons and boa constrictors. They have no natural predators, and contrary to what experts thought would happen, they're now breeding!

And heaven forbid they get any sort of trapping/hunting movement going -the animal rights people have a fit.

I don't live too far from the everglades, and fear I will find one of these horrible things near my house. I already told my husband if I did see one, I would purposely run over it with the car or park the car on it. He wasn't sure if that would kill it or not, but at the very least, hopefully it will hold it down until someone can come kill it! Scaring it away isn't good enough - I'd always think it was somewhere out there.

[Toni in Dallas]

What a bunch of f'n morons. Who in their right mind would leave a snake that big around a baby?! That is so sad.
On the other hand, think of all the fabulous shoes and handbags waiting to happen in the everglades.

[Joanne]

Snakes are NOT house pets! I loathe the things myself. But they are not meant to be pets at all. I hope these parents(using that term loosely) are charged with something over this. Because this is stupidity on their parts.

[Nikki]

I have no clue as to the appeal of these animals as pets -- snakes, monkeys, tigers... Wild, undomesticated animals belong in forests and wherever else they naturally live. Or zoos which do research and help endangered species breed and get them going again.

It makes sense that if you need a special permit, they are not kid friendly.

I am sorry for this poor little girl.

[Jennifer]

Once again I question the fact that we have to take and pass a test to get a driver's license, yet any idiot can have a child. So not right on so many levels.

[Mary Lou in FL]

And from what I understand, the little girl had bite marks on her head...sad, very, very sad.

[SusanInFlorida]

I live in Florida and today the newspapers had a picture of the boyfriend. The snake should have choked HIM. And yes, the little girl had bite marks on her head because the snake was trying to consume her (OMG). In the latest version of his story, the boyfriend said that as soon as he discovered the snake was missing in action, he went right to the child's room. Why? Did he know this would happen? And if so, why didn't he close her bedroom door?

The mother of the child was seen clutching her boyfriend is absolute grief. Had that been me, his brains would have been spilled on the livingroom carpet!

[Judy]

Kerry-we have a place close to the Everglades..well, not too close.Naples....and I look....I hate, hate snakes.and the idea of one of those creatures getting close to my kittens just freaks me out....and my kittens are indoor delights....but still...