Call it a love story.
A large python was found crawling around a parking lot in Chili, North Carolina, and reunited with its owner two months after it went missing.
The snake, a cream-colored ball python, was picked up by the Shallotte Police Department after a Tex-Mex restaurant reported a large snake in the area.
Responding officers, assuming it was a lost pet (ball pythons are native to the Tar Heel State), were able to safely scoop the snake up and posted the image on their Facebook page, asking anyone with information to do so. I asked them to contact me.
The next day, the beast was returned to its happy owner Christian Scheil, who described it as “the best snake I've ever owned.”
“That beautiful snake is my baby girl, Una” Shail told WECT. “I've missed her very much for the past two months.”
Sheil believes the snake must have been hiding in her car for nearly two months and that it accidentally escaped during a stop at Chili's on Tuesday.
She called Una's discovery “one of the best days of my life.”
“I was depressed and crying hysterically because I couldn't sleep without her,” she said. “What many people don't know or realize is that losing a reptile is the same as losing a dog or cat for someone else.”
Ciel said the snake appeared to be a little dehydrated and tired, but was otherwise happy and healthy.
“She had some scrapes or burns and we're going to treat her with iodine and polysporin tonight. She was very dehydrated,” Seal told WECT.
“We had to give her a little bath with electrolytes and she was just drinking water, but other than that she's a happy girl.”
