56 Year Old Woman Wrestles 8-ft. Python To Save Dog

Brenda van Bovene’s Monday was punctuated by screams. First, the screams of her 11-year-old Australian silky terrier Tammy, then by her own shrill cries — so loud that a neighbor across the street heard them through his ear buds as he listened to his iPod.

Van Bovene heard Tammy crying in a terrible, distressed way from the backyard that afternoon, which prompted the 56-year-old woman to rush outside to see what was wrong. She was shocked to find her 15-lb. dog caught in the stranglehold of an 8-ft. python, which was slowly coiling itself around Tammy in a bid to kill her.

And that’s when van Bovene started yelling for help. “Nobody was responding to my screaming, and in a split second, I just knew I had to get the snake off my dog,” van Bovene, of Bushland Beach, Australia, t “I literally pulled and pulled and pulled on the snake’s tail. I didn’t stop to think of my own safety, I just knew there was no way in hell was I letting this python eat my dog!’”

Somehow, without any tools or aid, just her own adrenaline-fueled strength, van Bovene wrested the cold snake off of her yelping dog. She can’t say how long it took because the experience seemed to happen in a blur. “When I pulled that final pull, it sounded like fabric ripping,” van Bovene says. “When I went to the vet, the snake’s tooth was lodged in Tammy’s chest. I ripped the snake’s tooth out! After I did it, my whole body just shook.”

Questions To Ask Before Adopting A Dog

To have a happy home and a happy dog, it’s critical to choose a pet that fits your needs and also the realities of what your household can accommodate. Here are 8 questions to consider as you decide what kind of dog you want:

1. What is your main requirement from a dog?
If it’s important for your dog to help protect the household, make that a priority. Consider sticking with one of the bigger or more aggressive breeds that are known to make good guard dogs. If you are looking for a companion to sit in your lap, select a small breed of dog like a Chihuahua or Pomeranian.

2. What kind of family environment do you have?
If you have small children, for example, make sure to choose a dog that is less likely to react negatively if startled by noise or poked by little kids. Consider choosing a breed that has a calm nature and socializes well with children such as golden retrievers, collies, pugs and boxers. Other breeds like the Dalmatian and Kerry blue terrier are less tolerant to the excitement that comes with kids running around. If you have other pets, you want to select a dog that gets along with other animals. If you live alone, and have no other pets in your home, these questions may not be as important.