"Python Swallows Dog"

[MelissaFlipski]

Melissa, im glad im not the only one who thought the whole thing is totally crazy. Im a parent and pet owner and I couldnt even fathom letting our children watch the snakes eat their natural prey let alone a family pet! totally messed up. can you imagine those children having a lifetime fear of snakes because of their parents irresponsibility and negligence

Yeah, you got an amen here. If the story is reported accurately, I'm sure it's not the ONLY thing the parents are doing wrong. It's a symptom. (Yes, I'm jumping to conclusions here.) So sad.

[MelissaFlipski]

yeah who knows. and i'm sorry if that came off cocky, that wasnt a stab at anyone else's opinion...

I didn't take it that way at all. IMO, too, some aussies ARE thinking it's no big deal. Or more exactly, they are thinking it shouldn't be a surprise given the parents' failure to take appropriate measures.

[GirDance]

Well, our version pictures not a boa - but a ball python. Give me a break!!!! Way to go responsible reporting.

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_20027.aspx

[spix14]

Well, our version pictures not a boa - but a ball python.

Ridiculous. Reminds me of a year or so ago when a batch of baby ball pythons got loose in a neighborhood around here and they had some lady on the news talking about how her grandchildren wouldn't be safe because the snakes would be trying to eat them...she then produced one of the babies that she'd killed with a shovel. I wanted to punch her through the tv, I swear.

Just sad and ignorant.

And? Seriously? You'd think Australians, seeing as how they live on a continent where like 1 out of 2 animals can kill the crap out of you, would be a bit more critter savvy. Guess not though.

[dalvers63]

Im a parent and pet owner and I couldnt even fathom letting our children watch the snakes eat their natural prey

I see nothing wrong with letting children of an age that can understand (and that depends on the child, of course) watch snakes eat. It is a fascinating example of evolution and adaptation in a species. When I was 10, our elementary school Science teacher had a room full of reptiles. Though we had to have signed parental permission, there were quite a few kids there to watch the snake eat. I think it was a burmese python, though it may have been a boa (don't recall which, but it was big to a 10yr old!). It was one of the things that solidified my love of snakes to this day.

That said, these people were totally irresponsible in both pet care and child care. I have to wonder why parents in a country where big snakes, along with venomous snakes, are a commonly seen animal haven't taught them what to do in case one shows up. Of course, keeping their dog outside in such an area was pretty irresponsible, too. The only one not to blame here is the snake, who was just doing what snakes do.

[MelissaFlipski]

Well, our version pictures not a boa - but a ball python. Give me a break!!!! Way to go responsible reporting.

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_20027.aspx

Wow. That is so stupid, I just have to laugh. But I really want to cry b/c that kind of mistake is what creates ignorance and fear. You should contact them and tell them to correct their error.

Edit: I sent them an email and told them they should be ashamed of themselves.

[juddb]

Thats a scrub python for sure not a boa. FYI

[spix14]

At some point the pic they had was most definitely a boa. They must have changed it.

[icygirl]

Well, our version pictures not a boa - but a ball python. Give me a break!!!! Way to go responsible reporting.

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_20027.aspx

Oh god....

Now that is ridiculous!!

[icygirl]

Wow. That is so stupid, I just have to laugh. But I really want to cry b/c that kind of mistake is what creates ignorance and fear. You should contact them and tell them to correct their error.

Edit: I sent them an email and told them they should be ashamed of themselves.

I also just sent an email to them... It seems like their article is almost identical to the CTV article, except they removed the word "scrub" from the entire article, and just used the generic word "python", so that people will think, "Gosh, my son has a ball python, whatever can I do!!" This is why I don't watch public news anymore... it's all about getting a reaction out of people. No one seems to want to report the straight truth anymore...