RI Press:It was a close encounter of the reptilian kind.

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Posted by desiree on October 09, 2002 at 11:11:14:

Reptilian encounter

RUSS OLIVO, Staff Writer October 09, 2002

WOONSOCKET -- It was a close encounter of the reptilian kind.
Marsha Jamieson was turning her truck into her narrow driveway in front of 190 Park Ave. yesterday afternoon when the creature surprised her. With dark unblinking eyes and an eerily deadpan expression on his leathery visage, he stood there motionless, an inch or two from the bumper of her red Jeep Cherokee.

It was a 4-foot-long iguana.

"I almost hit him," said Jamieson.

Looking like a refugee from the special effects department of an old Hollywood movie studio, the frightened creature darted into traffic when Jamieson honked her horn. That's when the mini-monster officially became a public safety issue.

After receiving at least one telephone call from a concerned citizen, Police dispatcher Lori Berthiaume broadcast the alert: Be on the lookout for a large lizard hampering traffic, she said, at Park Avenue and Bernon Street.

Patrolman Kevin R. Hammond said the call was intended for the animal control officer, but he decided to back her up anyway. There is something about a report of a large lizard scampering in traffic on Park Avenue that is impossible for a person of normal curiosity to resist.

"I've never seen an iguana on Park Avenue," he said.

Hammond left the details to Animal Control Officer Doris Kay and her assistant, Glen Thuot. When they arrived, the creature was waiting for them in a green recycling bin. Some of Jamieson's neighbors put him in there after they rescued him from traffic, they said.

Tony Phiensinh, 17, who lives next door to Jamieson, said he and his friends were walking home shortly before 3 p.m. when they saw cars dodging a big lizard in the middle of Park Avenue. Phiensinh made a tiny lasso out of his cloth belt, ran into street and ensnared the creature, leading it back onto the sidewalk.

"I just looped it," said Phiensinh, demonstrating his success.

The creature came along without a fight, he said.

Kay said the creature probably ran away from its owner or was abandoned somewhere in the neighborhood before meandering into Jamieson's yard. The reptile, she guessed, weighed about five pounds and was grayish-yellow -- not the color it should have been.

Yesterday's crisp weather is too cold for a cold-blooded iguana to stay healthy in for very long, said Kay.

"He should be a deeper green or a deeper yellow," said Kay. "He's cold."

Except for his sallow complexion, however, the intimidating-looking lizard seemed little worse for the wear as Kay held him (or her, possibly -- it hasn't been established yet) chest high for a knot of curious onlookers to inspect more closely. The king-size lizard almost seemed to enjoy the attention, opening its mouth to show a crack of pinkish gums in an expression that was uncannily smile-like.

Kay said it was apparent that the creature was accustomed to being around people because he was calm and well-mannered. He seemed well-fed, too.

"He's definitely someone's friend," Kay said.

Packing him into the back of her blue animal control wagon, Kay took custody of the animal until further notice. She said she would wait a couple of days to hear from someone who is missing an iguana before arranging to have the animal adopted.

The animal will be cared for at the dog pound on Cumberland Street until she decides what to do with it.

If no one claims the iguana, Kay said, she might offer it to Vadenais Farm in nearby Cumberland, which is starting a collection of creatures for a petting zoo.

�The Call 2002

It was a close encounter of the reptilian kind.

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