Woman wrestles 4m python trying to rescue puppy

[Sico]

Sydney - A woman in northern Australia rushed into her back garden when she heard her fox terrier puppy yelping in terror, to find a 4.2m scrub python coiling itself around the little dog.

Joelle Verfurth, of Cairns, grabbed whatever she could and threw it at the massive snake, the Cairns Post newspaper reported on Thursday.

"What ended up getting it to let go of the dog was actually throwing heaps of water on to it", she said.

She didn't want to harm the snake, just stun it so it would let go of her puppy Kate, she said.

Locals raced in to help her and the python uncoiled itself from around the dog, but it had been crushed to death. They carried the python deep into nearby bush and let it go unharmed.

"It was only a little fox terrier, and would have just been a snack to the python. Even just wrapping around it once would have been enough to kill it", Ms Verfurth said.

Scrub pythons are Australia's largest snake and can grow up to 8m, and have been known to crush and eat wallabies and pigs.
- SAPA 2014-12-04 14:36

[Ruan Stander]

Glad it wasn't harmed. But now the dog's dead and the snake is still hungry. Might as well have let it finish.

[Bushviper]

There are better methods however the time is a factor. You only have seconds to get it right. On a wild python just picking it up or dragging it around by its tail would have made it release the puppy.
I am sure she was hoping she could revive the puppy.