Python Eats Chihuahua-Maltese Pet Dog in New South Wales
Snakes in Australia are apparently a hungry lot. A week after a snake in Queensland swallowed a crocodile, a python in New South Wales ate on Wednesday night a Chihuahua-Maltese pet dog.
The pet dog was chained inside a kennel in a backyard. The owner was shocked when she approached the dog house to release her pet from its chain when she instead found a carpet python with a large bulge.
The other sign that poor Chihuahua-Maltese cross was its dinner was the dog chain that dangled from the snake's mouth. She sought assistance from the Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) which sent volunteers to her home in Caniaba, near Lismore, on Thursday morning.
The volunteers initially cut the chain and monitored if the python would expel the chain, but when it didn't, they brought the snake to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary for a veterinarian to determine if the animal would need surgery. After it recovers, the snake would be released in the wild.
Sue Ulyatt, secretary of WIRES Northern Rivers, said that carpet pythons are very common in rural areas. She said a dog as a meal would provide a snake sustenance for one month.
She said the pet owner was right in chaining her dog at night so it wouldn't disturb wildlife, but because of its situation, the Chihuahua-Maltese couldn't escape when wildlife attacked it.