'This time it was an actual boa': Frankfort police rescue, revive 6-foot snake
When the Chicago Reptile House in Orland Park received a call from Frankfort police last week about a large boa constrictor snake they had found, employees there were a bit skeptical.
“Normally, when someone calls about a boa or python they find we laugh because it’s usually a fox snake or something else native to the area and we tell them to drop it in a forested area,” said Brian Potter, manager at Chicago Reptile House. “This time it was an actual boa.”
Frankfort police Chief John Burica said they received a call from someone about 8:30 p.m. last Wednesday about a snake on the roadway near Ironwood Drive and Stonebridge Road.
He said the snake wasn’t moving and appeared to be in a catatonic state.
“Those snakes don’t adapt in cold weather very well,” Burica said.
He said officers placed the snake in the evidence chamber at the station under a warm light.
After a while it moved, Burica said.
He said the snake was someone’s pet because the animal is non-native.
Photos of the snake were posted to the department’s Facebook page in hopes the owner would recognize it and claim it.
But Burica said it looks like the snake was abandoned by its owner because it appears it had not been properly cared for and nobody claimed it.
He said officers searched for animal shelters willing to take the 6-foot snake the next morning and found the Chicago Reptile House.
“It didn’t look good, but they’re pretty resilient,” Potter said.
He said Chicago Reptile House workers contacted a local snake and reptile breeder who was willing to take the snake.
Potter said the breeder will keep the snake in quarantine until it’s nursed back to health.
This wasn’t the first time Frankfort police found strange animals roaming the village’s streets.
“We once had an emu running around town that we chased and we chased three large cattle that had got out of their fencing,” Burica said.
An emu is a large bird similar to an ostrich.
“There was also a miniature horse that we chased around the (Old Plank Road) trail,” Burica said. “Whenever we got close it would run away fast.”
He said all of the animals were eventually caught and returned to their owners, except for the miniature horse which he assumes went back to its home on its own.
“For some reason we get a lot of these odd animals that get out,” Burica said.
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So glad to hear they helped him though! That's really nice of them because many people might not have wanted to, or just assumed it was dead. Hope he makes a full recovery.
