Snakes alive!

By Karen McNew
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: September 17, 2008

On the last part of my dinner break Wednesday night I went to the pet store to get Luckie (my beagle)  his special dog food… I browsed around, looking at various pet inspired “sit-around-things.“  I probably spent about 10 minutes trying to decide which scented wax to get for our “wax melter smelly thing” (not sure the real name) that was given to us as a Christmas present.  I always break it out when the weather starts to get cooler. After all that time I decided it wasn’t cool enough to pull it out so I would just check out and head back to work…

I stroll up to the counter and as I am approaching I thought one of the clerks had a “toy” snake around her neck.  Then I saw it move and it’s tongue did its thing.. and I got really nervous.  I said, “I think you are going to have to step away from the register a little bit…“

The young woman named Ashley… pictured above with Ares.. David’s pet snake.. David was the young man standing at the counter when I walked up… then explained to me that she understood and that had Ares been a spider.. she would have been screaming her head off.

My jaw dropped… I will usually save a spider and the only snake I have ever seen outside our house was also spared.. but I am sorry.. I don’t think I could keep either one of them as a pet.

She said to me, “Do you want to pet him?“

I thought about it… not wanting to be a silly chicken… I asked David if he bites…

David replied, “He has only bitten me twice.“

WHAT?!?! I thought… ONLY twice?! 

Ashley then swung around part of Ares’ tail for me to lightly touch… and it wasn’t at all what I thought a snake would feel like… not cold but warm… not moist but very dry… and the snake actually looked like it enjoyed the attention…

To each his own on pet particulars… I’ll stick with my beagle but not everyone likes dogs either…