Snake's owner says 'no' to cleanup bill

Another fine representative of the reptile world, you don't let your animals free roam on public transportation. If this snake was missing for two months; she had it out in public in Boston during the winter for what reason.

This is what caught my eye in this article. Something I didn’t know about salmonella; only egg laying animals can carry the organisms. Although I do think raw chicken is gross.

"That's for reptiles that lay eggs. Boas give live birth,'' Moorhouse said, adding cooks who handle raw chicken and take public transportation pose a greater risk.

Snake's owner says 'no' to cleanup bill
Published: April 6, 2011 at 9:00 PM


BOSTON, April 6 (UPI) -- A woman reunited with her snake lost for two months on a Massachusetts train, says she won't pay cleanup and disinfecting fees demanded by the transit company.

The 3-foot boa escaped from her owner, Melissa Moorhouse Jan. 6 on the southbound Red Line of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority train.

MBTA inspectors checked the car Moorhouse was on and then checked the entire six-car train, finding no sign of the snake. Moorhouse said transit officials "asked me what drugs I was on and if I was hallucinating," referring to the loss of her snake and subsequently rebuffed her calls requesting to personally search the train.

The boa, Penelope, was found and captured on the Red Line Feb. 3 and two weeks later Moorhouse received a letter from the MBTA Treasurer-Controller Wesley Wallace:

"While I am pleased that you were reunited with your pet snake, your violation of the MBTA's pet policy resulted in unanticipated clean-up costs,'' wrote Wallace. "To rid the subway car of any traces of germs such as salmonella, which may have been left by your snake, MBTA maintenance crews had to scrub and disinfect the Red Line car in which your snake was found.''

"That's for reptiles that lay eggs. Boas give live birth,'' Moorhouse said, adding cooks who handle raw chicken and take public transportation pose a greater risk.

Moorhouse said she cannot and would not pay the $650 bill, alleging the cleanup was unnecessary, The Boston Globe reported Wednesday.

"I'm in no position to pay for that,'' said Moorhouse, saying the money is more than she can afford on her disability payments and her husband's warehouse salary. "And if the T officials had given me any respect or listened to me in the first place, this wouldn't have happened.''

© 2011 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2011/04/...1561302138015/

She's wrong about Salmonella only being carried by egg laying reptiles. Granted it is most prevalent in reptiles that are shipped and/or held in large number and in unsanitary conditions (iguanas, turtles), but can be found in all reptiles, it's often a part of their natural intestinal fauna.

I like how she said, "And if the T officials had given me any respect or listened to me in the first place, this wouldn't have happened.''. Yeah, try to blame it on someone else. If she wouldn't have taken her boa onto public transportation unsecured it wouldn't have happened.

Originally Posted by garweft

She's wrong about Salmonella only being carried by egg laying reptiles. Granted it is most prevalent in reptiles that are shipped and/or held in large number and in unsanitary conditions (iguanas, turtles), but can be found in all reptiles, it's often a part of their natural intestinal fauna.

I was trying to be facetious when I implied I didn't know only egg laying animals could carry salmonella.

Although I meant it when I said raw chicken was gross.

What I dont get here is why they are nailing her with a clean up bill when the snake was not found until 2 months later. Does this mean within those two months they did not clean the train once during normal use?

(Argh hit enter to soon)

I could understand a small cleanup fee but 650$ is a bit much.

Originally Posted by wcreptiles

I was trying to be facetious when I implied I didn't know only egg laying animals could carry salmonella.

Although I meant it when I said raw chicken was gross.

That makes sense, tone doesn't come thru in posts..... and yes raw chicken is gross.

this lady is pretty stupid if you ask me. What was she doing with the snake out in the winter in the first place? I will admit that I have taken my pet snakes outdoors before. But never during the cold winter months, and not without MAKING SURE it was safely secured and not going to get away from me..That's like taking a loaded gun, pointing it at your feet, pulling the trigger and hoping that the safety is on. I think the fee is slightly high, unless they are including the extra pay they had to dish out for the workers to clean it. But either way, I think that this woman shouldn't be allowed to have kids...who knows when she'd leave her baby on a train...