God has made us different, he made us so unique. We slither on the ground, we have no hands and feet. Though you find us scary, or maybe just plain weird, our intentions are not to hurt you or cause you such great fear. Our venom's not meant for humans but to help us when we eat. So, please stop the senseless killing before we're all extinct. We're not saying you have to love us or tell us we're the best. God's the one who created us. So, treat us with respect.
written by Sarah Clark for Southeastern Reptile Rescue
Fears are educated into us and can, if we wish, be educated out. -Karl A. Merringer
A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal... Proverbs 12:10
The snake is an animal. It has a backbone and a heart. It has red blood. It drinks water and eats food. It breathes air and feels fear just like every other animal in the world. And, it's in a body that's the hardest thing for the average person to understand. (author-unknown)
When Animals Attack
Recently, at Southeastern Reptile Rescue, tragedy struck as Sarah was attacked by one of our animals. This animal attack came from a creature that we all supposed was tame. Because of this, we often entered its area and frequently turned our back to it as we never anticipated it showing any aggression. This particular day was just like any other. Sarah began her morning by making her rounds and checking on the animals. I was about an hour away from home when the call came in. It was Sarah. Barely audible through the screams, (she wasn't really screaming but it makes this story more interesting) I managed to make out that Sarah had been attacked and was now spurting blood from her leg and that the ambulance was on its way. I had been just about to enjoy a breakfast at Chick-Fil-A but now had to speed home wondering which animal had gotten her. Was it one of the large alligators, the snapping turtle, the cobra or gaboon viper. Or, maybe it was the caiman. The caiman always did seem to have a bad attitude. Paramedics arrived just before I did and managed to stop the blood and secure the wound on Sarah's leg. Just a few miles from home, I received a call from my sister Carman who was now at Sarah's side. Carman then began to explain exactly what happenned. Apparently, as Sarah stood in front of The Snake Shed and began to pet Black Jack the pony, she was approached from behind by her attacker - a chicken! Yes. That's right. A chicken. The chicken, which happened to be a rooster, approached Sarah from behind and must have felt that she was encroaching to close to his harem of hens. As Sarah continued to say good morning to Black Jack, the chicken struck. Jumping off the ground, he plunged his nearly 2" spur into Sarah's right calf muscle. Sarah quickly swatted the offending chicken away and then noticed that each time she stepped, a stream of blood squirted from her right leg onto her left. Sarah, never being a fan of blood, especially her own, began to panic. Fearing that she would bleed to death, she quickly called 911 and requested an ambulance. Paramedics arrived and applied a compress which easily stopped the free flowing blood. As soon as I knew that Sarah's going to live, I stopped at Truett's Grill in Griffin for a chicken and cheese bagel.
Sarah has fully recovered and no longer turns her back on our feathered friends. We later found out that the rooster's spur probably did not hit an actual vein but only muscle. The stream of blood was apparently due to Sarah's calf muscle flexing as she walked. So, she was not really in danger of bleeding to death. Needless to say, Sarah received considerable teasing from friends and family about her ordeal. It's a good thing that she has a great sense of humor because she now has a permanent reminder of her "near death experience" each time she comes in our driveway. -- See Pictures Below --
Handy work of the paramedics.
A closeup of the wound.
The rooster's 2" spurs
Sarah's constant reminder to be cautious lines our driveway.
