The Straits Times 19 Nov 06
Python squeezes pet dog to death at River Valley
condo
By Lee Hui Chieh & Chong Chee Kin
MISS Glenda Liu's evening walk with her boyfriend's two dogs turned
into a nightmare on Wednesday, when a 3.5m python emerged from the
darkness and wound itself around seven-year-old Jack Russell
terrier Bella, crushing the animal to death.
Police, responding to a call about a woman in distress at the Aspen
Heights condominium in River Valley Road, arrived at the scene
without appropriate tools to deal with the snake.
The officers spent 20 minutes prising Bella from the snake's grip
with a golf club, but it managed to give them the slip and
slithered away. By then, the dog was already dead.
Contacted yesterday, police spokesman Assistant Superintendent
Stanley Norbert said the initial information given by the caller
was about 'a woman in trouble'. 'It was not apparent...what the
problem was and our officers went down to investigate,' he
said.
The Sunday Times understands that the condominium's management
office has since put up posters warning residents about the python.
Pest control teams have made two unsuccessful attempts to find the
snake.
Still, it was cold comfort to Bella's owners, 37-year-old sales
director Matt Walterhausen and Miss Liu, a 22-year-old private
school student.
Mr Walterhausen, who returned to Singapore from a conference in
Thailand the day after the incident, said: 'I'm devastated. My dogs
are like valued family members. You can appreciate their level of
importance to me for me to spend thousands of dollars taking them
everywhere.'
He had spent close to $20,000 bringing the dogs from China, where
he last worked, to Singapore. Apart from grieving for his pet, Mr
Walterhausen was also concerned about the safety of the children in
the condo. 'The size of a toddler and a dog are not much different
and the children could be attacked,' he said.
Pythons, which can grow to more than 7m long, are generally
defensive by nature and usually feed on small creatures like birds
or rodents. They tend not to attack humans, unless they feel
threatened.
Mr Walterhausen said they have informed the landlady that they will
be moving out of the condo today. They have been living there for
over seven months now. The sudden termination of the lease means he
loses his $7,000 security deposit.
For Miss Liu, that appears to be the best course of action. She
said: 'When I see the grass patch now, I'm so scared that my legs
tremble. 'My head is filled with the images of the snake around my
yelping dog, and I can't sleep. 'We lost our baby.'
