LAKE CITY, Wash. — The owner of a 4-foot-long carpet snake may be in trouble after a family found the snake inside of their toilet on Friday.
Buted Dashdemberel says her toddler discovered the snake inside their apartment on 143rd Street in Seattle's Lake City area. Dashdemberel has never seen a snake in person before and couldn't believe what was happening.
"I scream, called my husband and I said, 'there's a real snake in there.' He didn't believe me," she said. "I'm still thinking is this real? Is it a dream or something?"
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It was the holiday weekend, and the family had trouble getting in touch with a rescue that would take the reptile. They called apartment managers, who sent two employees to fish the snake out of the toilet after consulting with reptile experts. Carpet snakes are not known to be venomous.
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Dashdemberel showed KIRO 7 video of the rescue, which shows two employees struggling to pull the snake out of the toilet due to the snake's size.
"It's stuck down in the pipes," one of the employees says in the video. "I'm pulling it out the toilet and this thing is huge."
Another employee responds, "I can feel how much force you're using to try to get it out of the toilet."
In the video, the employees successfully get the snake out and place it in a large tub.
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Seattle police say the Pacific Northwest Herpetological Society will take the female carpet snake.
Officials with the non-profit rescue told KIRO7 they believe the snake may have been intentionally flushed down the toilet. The owner of the snake, who also lives at the apartment complex, has been located and may face consequences. The complex does not allow snakes as pets. Apartment employees said they believe the snake escaped. The incident remains under investigation.
Carpet snakes are fairly rare in Washington, according to the Herpetological Society -- almost as rare as finding a snake in your toilet during the holiday weekend.
"I still cannot go back in the bathroom, and I'm really scared," Dashdemberel said, "But we saved his life! That's why I feel okay."
Cox Media Group
