She called for her dog several times on Monday (Jan 18), but when the Pomeranian failed to respond, a woman called her husband to see if he had brought their dog, Mia, to the office. When he said no, the 39-year-old Australian national felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.
She stepped out of her apartment in Eleven@Holland and circled around the back of the complex when she came across a blood-chilling sight — a three-metre-long python wrapped around Mia, swallowing the dog’s head.
In an interview with Lianhe Wanbao, the woman said she was so shocked by what she saw that she wasn’t able to move for five minutes.
After she recollected herself, she ran to call for help from the estate’s security guards and authorities, as well as her friends who lived nearby.
The Animals Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) was called in for assistance afterwards. As the python had gotten itself stuck in a hole, leaving only a third of itself visible, it took three rescuers two and a half hours before they were able to dig it out, Acres told AsiaOne.
The dog’s sudden death left her owners at a complete loss. The couple had had Mia for seven years — she joined their family while they were still living in Australia.
When they moved to Singapore two months ago, they hadn’t expected such a tragedy to befall upon them.
Their two-year-old daughter, whose best friend and companion had been Mia, doesn’t know of the dog’s fate yet. Unwilling to break the toddler’s heart, the couple told her that the dog returned to their old home for a “holiday”.
Dog’s incessant barking might have been warnings
According to the woman, prior to Mia’s death, the dog would regularly stand on their apartment’s balcony and bark in the direction of the estate’s swimming pool.
She believed Mia might have noticed that there was a python hidden in the space behind the pool.
While she doesn’t know how or why Mia ran out that day, the woman believed her dog had tried to chase the python away but unfortunately lost her life doing so.
Python sightings, feline victims
Other animals, both pets and strays, have fallen victim to hungry pythons.
In 2018, horrified passers-by watched as a large python attempted to swallow a stray cat. Although it eventually abandoned its meal, the cat was already dead.
Another two snakes were rescued in 2018 and 2019. Both had swollen bellies, which authorities believed were due to them having fed on stray cats.
Just last year, another python was spotted with its jaws clamped around the head of a cat.
Kalai Vanan, the co-CEO of Acres, told Stomp in 2019: “Pythons have adapted well to urban areas and mostly feed on rats. However, when the opportunity rises, they do go for cats who frequent drains.”
Source: asiaone.com
