Potter's Old Friend Is In Trouble

It's nice to know that he made it all the way across the Atlantic, but all good things must come to an end.  One of the earliest witnesses to the power of The Boy Who Lived is now imprisoned, awaiting sentence.
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July 23, 2004 (VERO BEACH, Fla.) — A 16-foot-long Burmese python was captured on a city street after a passing motorist spotted about three feet of it hanging over a curb and called police.

The brown-and-yellow snake was wrestled into a body bag and taken to the home of Animal Control Officer Bruce Dangerfield.

"This is a very irresponsible owner to let something loose like this," Dangerfield said of the capture late Wednesday. "Either it escaped -- all snakes are escape artists -- or someone let it loose."

Dangerfield said he has picked up dozens of loose Burmese pythons and boa constrictors over the years, but this was the biggest.

Dangerfield said the responsibilities that come with owning a giant reptile become too much for some people. Within a few years, a 20-inch hatchling bought for $100 at a pet store will become a rabbit-munching giant.

"Some people should just watch Animal Channel or something, not own one," he said.
The snake will probably be euthanized if its owner doesn't come forward, said Ilke Daniel of the Humane Society.

"There is such overpopulation, no zoo wants them," she said.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)