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Posted by W von Papineäu on February 14, 2003 at 11:58:31:
In Reply to: CA Press: Police decide to let sleeping snake lie posted by W von Papineäu on February 13, 2003 at 11:49:59:
TRI-VALLEY HERALD (Pleasanton, California) 14 February 03 Renegade cobra dies after night in morgue
Dublin: The 4 1/2-foot cobra taking refuge at the East County Animal Shelter is no more.
After escaping his captors Tuesday and spending a frigid night in the shelter's morgue, the venomous terror was destroyed Wednesday.
"The snake is no longer among the living," Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. Chris Carmine said.
Dublin police responded to the shelter Tues-day when Animal Control officers called for a shotgun to get rid of the pest. But after voicing concerns about bullet ricochets -- and knowing that the nearest antitoxin was in Colorado -- officials decided to leave the reptile alone.
The "monocled" cobra -- which is characterized by a pair of spots on the back of its hood that resemble eyes -- was brought to the shelter along with another cobra and a rattlesnake by a Livermore resident who claimed he had confiscated them from a neighbor.
The man told police the neighbor was importing snakes from southern Florida. Federal fish and game officials have been tapped to investigate.
When no one could retrieve the animal from the morgue, the door was shut and the snake was left to slither among the 50-gallon drums that hold euthanized strays.
But after just a few hours in the 38-degree cooler, the creature became lethargic. A private snake-retrieval service based in Auburn made the trip to Dublin on Wednesday afternoon and used a pair of elongated tongs to fetch the creature.
The reptile was then euthanized and sent to a crematorium.
"No museums wanted it," Carmine said.
The remaining two snakes brought in by the resident shared the same fate. Carmine said snake carcasses must be burned because they are poisonous.
No services are scheduled.
