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Child found home alone with 19 snakes

smb2585

smb2585

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They had to of course put emphasis and single out the 14 ft python... seriously???? and "potentially dangerous" ??






http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/suffolk/child-found-home-alone-with-19-snakes


Child found home alone with 19 snakes
19 snakes, two bearded dragons, two pit bulls
Updated: Thursday, 14 Jul 2011, 2:21 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 14 Jul 2011, 12:15 PM EDT

SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - A Suffolk father was arrested and charged after allegedly leaving his child home alone with nearly two dozen potentially-dangerous animals.

Emmanuel Velazquez, 28, was charged with cruelty and injuries to children, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to Suffolk police spokesperson Debbie George.

On July 2, Velazquez' 7-year-old son called police to let them know that his dog was missing.

Police came to the house in the 100 block of Majestic Drive and discovered the child was home alone with 19 snakes, one of which was a 14-foot Python, two bearded dragons and two pit bulls. There were also feeder mice found in the home.

Police asked where the mother was in all of this, and the child said they were divorced. Police told WAVY.com it is legal for the homeowner to have the animals.

George said days before the incident, the 7-year-old's younger brother, a 5-year-old, was found walking on Godwin Boulevard by a passerby.

Velazquez told police that the child had left the house while he was sleeping.
 
That is the most retarded article I have ever read. Who cares that he has pets! I have never heard of a fatal beardie attack either, so how are they potentially dangerous? will they sit on your shoulder to death? lol. Also, why do people get arrested for having large snakes? More people die from cats and dogs than snakes every year, so why don't they start arresting people for having them as well? I work in a hospital in the center of texas and see more dog and cat attacks than snake bites, attacks, or even any injury related to them. Why do you think the media and people have such a disliking for reptiles? This makes me hate people even more than I already do!
 
The dogs and the 14 ft python are all capable of hurting the kid. I doubt that any would, but in some states, you are not supposed to leave a 7 year old home by themselves, pets or no pets.

Deliquency of a minor though? Huh? For leaving him at home? "cruelty and injuries to children, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor" tells me that there's more going on than "snakes in the home" which the article focused on. It does say that the 3 year old was found wandering the streets a few days before, so obviously the man wasn't caring for his kids.
 
This moron is too stupid to be allowed to own pets or to even have unsupervised visits with his children. The possible tragic events are numerous:
1)kid opens door and lets dogs out and dogs get hit by a car, or stolen, or bite someone, or get in a fight with another dog, or get blamed for something they did not do. We don't need irresponsible people giving ammunition to pitbull haters.
2)kid could play with the dogs or the mice and then open the python's cage and the snake could defensive strike the child or grab the child that smells like prey.......I have bred burmese and had many snakes that were very aggressive when they smelled food and were hungry.
3)kid could be abducted
4)kid could choke on a cheeto......lol.....fine, kid could choke on a hotdog
5)kid could start a fire cooking hotdog
6)kid could get bitten when dogs try to take the hotdog away or kid could get bitten breaking up the 2 pits as they are fighting over the hotdog...........btw, I owned a pitbull rescue years ago and the only time they ever got into fights is over human food treats.
7)kid could stick something in an electrical socket and die from the shock
8)kid could.........

The possibilities are endless and our hobby does not need the bad press.......throw him in prison and let the lifers deliver their brand of justice.
 
:iagree: it is so ridiculous. I mean I can understand charging him with endangerment of a child or whatever leaving the kid alone and having another kid earlier found walking the streets but havin to mention "19 snakes, 2 pitbulls, feeder rats" is excessive... makes me want to send the dude a nasty letter in jail for being so stupid about things.
 
Yep. You have to watch out for those beardies, they are a vicious lizard. I remember one time I was feeding my beardie by hand and he bit me so hard that I had to put a band-aid on my finger. Geeze.... think about all the blood lost that I could have had if I didn't have a band aid available. Who in their right mind would leave a beardie alone with a child?? That is just insane.......

Just another retarded article written by retarded people, informing more of the zombie public about something in which the media knows nothing about. (Sighs).
 
Come on everyone this is serious. The kids where in danger of being KILLED by those feeder mice. I mean they could have chewed the kids to ribbons, then the snakes would have squeezed what was left of the life out of them and then the dogs would have eaten the scraps. OMG can't forget the dragons. You know if they got out they would have killed everyone...(I am not sure how, maybe with their killer eyes)

I only agree that the man needed to watch the kids closer. Kids escape their cages, I mean houses. However it is very possible there is more than meets the eye in this case. I hate it when our hobby gets bashed.
 
"Emmanuel Velazquez, 28, was charged with cruelty and injuries to children, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to Suffolk police spokesperson Debbie George."

This shows that there are already laws in place to deal with irresponsible adults exposing children to potential danger, and therefore, that blanket laws specifically prohibiting ownership of certain animals are unnecessary and only harm responsible people.
 
Originally posted by redhood23:
That is the most retarded article I have ever read. Who cares that he has pets! I have never heard of a fatal beardie attack either, so how are they potentially dangerous? will they sit on your shoulder to death? lol. Also, why do people get arrested for having large snakes? More people die from cats and dogs than snakes every year, so why don't they start arresting people for having them as well? I work in a hospital in the center of texas and see more dog and cat attacks than snake bites, attacks, or even any injury related to them. Why do you think the media and people have such a disliking for reptiles? This makes me hate people even more than I already do!
__________________
u r sofa king we tod did!

I agree with you totally Brett but don't give them any ammo for taking away our right to have cats & dogs either. These people just don't "get it" & might jump on that band wagon too, lol!

Judy Beard (jb732)
 
i read the whole article and the comments posted by people. not everyone focused on the snakes, more people focused on the pit bulls. one person said he knew the guy personally and said the that 14ft python was padlocked. one person brought up the toddler that was killed by an escaped snake that was kept in the same room. the person that tried to take a stand for his friend said all the snakes were rescues and when they were healthy he found homes for them. i don't know if this is true or not. what stands out for me is that the 7 year old thought that his missing dog was an emergency and called the cops. in the article it did not mention a 3 yr old, it was a 7 and 5 year old.

my mom never had any kind of pets except for out side cats and yes were we left alone at home many times since she was a single mom who worked. we were all in school and out of 4 of us we went to 3 different schools due to the amount of kids going to the nearest school so we almost all got home at different times. when my youngest brother was 5 i was 11. we are all basically 2 years apart. he stayed at a neighbor's house until i got home from school with my sister and other brother. nothing ever happened to use unless someone was home. where we lived there was only one break in and it was on x-mas.

yes anything could have happened but nothing really did. i am glad nothing bad happened to the kids and that the 7 year old had enough common sense that if he thought something was an emergency he called the police.

however this article reflects badly on almost anyone keeping reptiles of any size. many people will read this and think that almost anyone who keeps reptiles may act like this. only those close to the people and are keepers can relate know the truth.
 
I think the animals need to be the least of the police's worries. The guy left his 7 year old home alone, and I don't know any 7 year olds who are responsible and mature enough to be left home alone, pets or no pets. I really don't understand what the big deal is about the animals, as long as he wasn't keeping any of them illegally. The police and media need to be more concerned with the fact that he left his child home alone than they are about him having the animals.
 
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