A 12-foot-long Burmese python attacked a pet store owner Thursday afternoon and sank its teeth deep into her ring finger after the woman reached her hand into the snake's cage to show it off to customers, The (Eugene, Ore.) Register-Guard reported Saturday.
Police arrived at the scene as the snake had wrapped itself tightly around the owner's body, Eugene police Sgt. Ryan Nelson told The Register-Guard.
"We don't really have any training in that," Nelson said. "This was a new one for me."
Nelson tried to loosen the python's grip several times, but was unsuccessful. According to the Register-Guard, he only managed to break off a few of the snake's teeth and cut his fingers in the process.
Firefighters arrived and pried the snake's mouth open with a screwdriver. Nelson then grabbed the snake and, still bleeding from his own wounds, wrestled it back into its cage, the Register-Guard reported.
"Once we got her loose, I was standing there holding a 12-foot python and trying to figure out what to do with it," Nelson said. "That snake was angry."
-C.C.
