A police officer in Mt. Vernon, Missouri came to the rescue of a woman after a 5-foot-long snake bit her Friday.
Cpl. Shaun Cobb responded to the 911 after Leadeana Oetker's 20-year-old python named Baby sank her teeth into her arm as she reached into its cage to move it to a separate feeding container, according to The Springfield News-Leader.
Luckily for Oetker, pythons aren’t venomous, but they do have sharp teeth and kill their prey by grabbing it and constricting it. After being bitten, Baby began to tighten down on her arm.
"I walked into the house and saw a female with a large ball python coiled up on her arm," Cobb, who said this was his first snake call, told the newspaper. "There was discoloration on her arm from the snake's constriction -- it was squeezing down as hard as it could."
The officer assessed the situation and located the snake's head before trying to use the dull edge of a butter knife to force its jaw apart, but at first was unsuccessful.
"I had the lady sit down because I didn’t want her to pass out with the snake still on," he said. "I reached back and moved the tail and I could see the snake moving a little."
He tried the butter knife again and was able to dislodge the Baby's jaw enough for him to grab its head and detach it from Oetker's arm. He then placed the snake back in its cage.
Oetker declined a ride in an ambulance and her bleeding from the bite was minimal.
"I've had her for six years, but now I'm kind of scared of her," she said. “I'll let my boyfriend feed her from now on. But I'll tell you what, that officer was awesome."
