..owner calls on municipality to clean “bushy” drain

A six-month-old sleeping poodle, ‘Sue’  died almost instantly after a fifteen-foot anaconda crawled into her  kennel and stifled her at New Amsterdam.

Animal lover and owner Tessa Hughes of Lot 35 Cummingsvile, Housing Scheme, New Amsterdam,  related  that it was around 02:00hrs on Thursday last  when she heard a short cry followed by a thud emanating from her pet’s kennel.

She said she immediately called out to her son, Chavez, who was asleep at the time, to check  to see what the commotion was. Armed with with a cutlass and a flashlight, he saw the lower portion of the slippery reptile outside of the wooden kennel.

After chaining two guard dogs which were in the in the yard, Chavez called out to his neighbour Alistair and together, they took cover from the reptile which was moving in their direction.

After seeking cover ,  the snake attempted to leave the pen through the hole which it used to enter the kennel. It was later tied and killed.

Hughes said repeated reports were made to the New Amsterdam Town Council about the overgrown bushes in the interlock drain which she said is in dire need of cleaning.

The woman said that she has been contending with various reptiles near her yard. ‘This place is like a zoo. I reported this incident to the Mayor, and she put me on to a Mr Johnson. They only promise to come. This place needs to be cleared. I cannot venture out there,” the mother of two lamented.

In 2008 , the woman’s father the late Eustace Hughes , who was attached to the municipality as a mason, died after he was attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees while working at the Stanleytown cemetery.