Clay Davenport
Cerebral Nomad
An Indianapolis mother is suing Uncle Bill's Pet Center after a 10-foot-long Burmese python bit her son.
Robin Post says her son Travis was also strangled by the snake in the May 2002 incident at the store, 4829 W. 38th St.
"The snake suddenly attacked him, coiled around him and tried to kill him," said the family's attorney, E. Ralph Hoover. "It tried to eat him, basically."
Travis, now 12, was 10 years old and weighed about 70 pounds at the time of the incident. He was bitten on the shoulder and the chest and suffered about 40 puncture wounds, according to an animal control officer's report.
The snake belonged to a customer, but Hoover said the pet store should have done more to protect Travis from the animal. The lawsuit was filed earlier this month in Marion Superior Court.
"Uncle Bill's had a duty to keep their premises in a way that is safe for invitees," Hoover said. "Obviously, it's not safe when you allow people to bring wild animals in and allow them to be around children."
Uncle Bill's Vice President Joe Street called the incident "unfortunate" and said he regretted that the boy was injured.
Pet owners are routinely allowed to bring their animals into many pet stores, but Street said the snakebite incident might cause the owners of Uncle Bill's to end the policy.
"We've learned something here, and certainly in the future we've got to try to determine what is a dangerous animal," Street said.
Travis was with a group of about five children who were interested in the snake. Its owner, Christopher Simms, was a regular at the pet store and occasionally brought his snake inside, a pet store official said.
Simms, who is also named as a defendant in the suit, could not be reached for comment.
According to an animal control report, Simms, 32, allowed Travis to hold the snake and stepped away from the creature to talk to the boy's mother. It was wrapped around Travis' shoulders when it locked its teeth into him, according to the report.
Simms pried the animal's jaws open and unwrapped its tightening coils from the youth's neck.
The boy suffered physical pain and mental anguish as a result of the attack, according to the lawsuit. The family is seeking payment for the boy's medical costs and other damages.
Snakebites are extremely rare, animal control officials say. People are far more likely to get bitten by dogs. There were about 1,800 dog bites reported in Marion County in 2002, and just one snake attack.
In this case, Travis had been petting rabbits and puppies before handling the snake. In the snake's mind, the boy smelled like food, said Animal Control Sgt. Jerry Bippus.
"Snakes really don't know what's what," said Bippus, who investigated the attack. "My problem with this is the owner allowed the child to hold the snake. There's no way I would allow that if I were a snake owner. Animals are animals -- you never know what they're going to do."
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Robin Post says her son Travis was also strangled by the snake in the May 2002 incident at the store, 4829 W. 38th St.
"The snake suddenly attacked him, coiled around him and tried to kill him," said the family's attorney, E. Ralph Hoover. "It tried to eat him, basically."
Travis, now 12, was 10 years old and weighed about 70 pounds at the time of the incident. He was bitten on the shoulder and the chest and suffered about 40 puncture wounds, according to an animal control officer's report.
The snake belonged to a customer, but Hoover said the pet store should have done more to protect Travis from the animal. The lawsuit was filed earlier this month in Marion Superior Court.
"Uncle Bill's had a duty to keep their premises in a way that is safe for invitees," Hoover said. "Obviously, it's not safe when you allow people to bring wild animals in and allow them to be around children."
Uncle Bill's Vice President Joe Street called the incident "unfortunate" and said he regretted that the boy was injured.
Pet owners are routinely allowed to bring their animals into many pet stores, but Street said the snakebite incident might cause the owners of Uncle Bill's to end the policy.
"We've learned something here, and certainly in the future we've got to try to determine what is a dangerous animal," Street said.
Travis was with a group of about five children who were interested in the snake. Its owner, Christopher Simms, was a regular at the pet store and occasionally brought his snake inside, a pet store official said.
Simms, who is also named as a defendant in the suit, could not be reached for comment.
According to an animal control report, Simms, 32, allowed Travis to hold the snake and stepped away from the creature to talk to the boy's mother. It was wrapped around Travis' shoulders when it locked its teeth into him, according to the report.
Simms pried the animal's jaws open and unwrapped its tightening coils from the youth's neck.
The boy suffered physical pain and mental anguish as a result of the attack, according to the lawsuit. The family is seeking payment for the boy's medical costs and other damages.
Snakebites are extremely rare, animal control officials say. People are far more likely to get bitten by dogs. There were about 1,800 dog bites reported in Marion County in 2002, and just one snake attack.
In this case, Travis had been petting rabbits and puppies before handling the snake. In the snake's mind, the boy smelled like food, said Animal Control Sgt. Jerry Bippus.
"Snakes really don't know what's what," said Bippus, who investigated the attack. "My problem with this is the owner allowed the child to hold the snake. There's no way I would allow that if I were a snake owner. Animals are animals -- you never know what they're going to do."
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