The last thing you expect to find in the dumpster is a very large python, much less a 20-foot snake that is also sick. However, that's exactly what happened for one woman at her California apartment building.
Fortunately, thanks to the woman, the reptile is now safe at a rescue facility. According to KTLA, Teresa Sanchez had just returned home on August 5 when she saw what she thought was a toy snake in the dumpster.
"At first, I thought it was maybe a stuffed animal," Teresa Sanchez told the outlet. "Then I'm like, 'Who would leave such a huge stuffed animal?' And then as I got closer, it looked realistic, so I thought it was maybe taxidermy. And then it moved."
"I couldn't believe it," she continued. "I was like, 'Am I in Florida? What's going on here?'"
Python Saved From Dumpster And Death
"It was sick," a bystander told the outlet. "Its mouth was swollen and it couldn't open its mouth."
Unfortunately, animal control and police declined to help. Others offered to euthanize the python.
"I wanted to find someone who was more compassionate about animals so that they could hopefully take it, rescue it, and nurse it back to health," she said.
But then she found the number for Joseph Hart from SoCal Reptile Hunter. He agreed to take the reptile and save it.
"We named her Apples, she's in great care now," Hart wrote in a comment on KTLA's Instagram page. "Going to get her the medicine and care she needs to fully recover!"
He said that he's making sure the python gets the help it needs.
"Apples is receiving the medical care, treatment, and compassion she deserves!" he wrote. "We'll be sharing updates as she heals. Donations below will go directly toward her ongoing care, meds, and a properly sized enclosure fit for a snake her size (20 feet!)".
"Thank you for everyone who helped out in making sure she was rescued ???," Hart added, per KTLA.
