Snake Escape Has Happy Ending

A snake and its owner were reunited after the python escaped and gave quite a scare to a Riverside County family.

Fran Swallow -- an 11-foot, 50-pound Burmese python -- was returned home Wednesday.

Francisco Delgadillo, who lives near Lake Elsinore, told The Associated Press that he was sitting on his porch with his sister when he saw the snake moving across the fenced yard. Animal control responded to the scene and captured the snake.

Animal services spokesman John Welsh said the presumed owner, a long-distance trucker, contacted the agency. Welsh said the owner entrusted his pet to his brother while he was away and the snake somehow escaped.

The holding case from which Fran Swallow escaped was inspected and  determined to be secure, making it unlikely the snake will get out again,  according to Welsh.

"We're happy the python is now home where its owner pampers and loves  his snake," Welsh said.

The trucker's residence is adjacent to the home where the python was  spotted Sunday night.

The snake likely got out of its holding case and slithered up to a  second-story window, punching through a screen "to perform his ... escape,"  Welsh said.

Francisco Delgadillo, 43, who lives in the neighborhood off of Highway  74 near Lake Elsinore where the snake turned up, was talking with his sister  around 8:20 p.m. Sunday when they saw the reptile making its way across his  front yard.

"I was thinking, 'Oh my God, that's a huge snake,'"' Delgadillo said. "Our whole yard is fenced, so I'm not sure how it got into my property. Maybe  it came down from one of the trees."

Delgadillo called 911, and animal control officers Christina Avila and  Dylan Gates responded.

According to Welsh, it took the combined strength of both officers to  heave the python into the animal control truck.

The snake is native to Southeast Asia and legal to own in California,  according to the Department of Animal Services. 

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