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Florida couple fined after pet python squeezes pampered pooch
MIAMI (AFP) - A Florida couple was told to cough up 1,300 dollars after their four-metre (11-foot) pet python strangled Max, a neighbors' petite rat terrier, the Palm Beach Post reported.
But the court's award was little consolation for Wayne Vassello, 32 and Shana Lane, 25, who said Max was family to them.
"I keep a picture of him in my wallet," Vassello, 32, testified in a small claims court in West Palm Beach, Florida.
"We don't have kids," he said, his voice cracking. "That was our child. We celebrated birthdays and holidays."
Vassello and Lane would set a place for Max at the Thanksgiving dinner table, and the beloved pooch was to be the ring bearer at their wedding next year, the newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The court heard how Vassello unleashed the 3-year-old Max near the front door of his apartment complex, when the huge reptile named Diamond suddenly emerged and seized the small dog.
Vassello ran to his car, grabbed a golf club and began whacking the snake. The serpent released the dog, but Max bolted in a panic. He was found dead the next day.
Vassello and Lane have since left the apartment complex and bought a new rat terrier.
But neighbor John Corkan insisted he had no reason to get rid of Diamond. "She just does her own thing ... She's never made an attempt to bite or squeeze a person," the daily quoted him as saying.
"She's a very friendly snake, actually," added Corkan's daughter Aundi.
http://davesdaily.com/out.php?id=163...BHNlYwN5bmNhdA--
But the court's award was little consolation for Wayne Vassello, 32 and Shana Lane, 25, who said Max was family to them.
"I keep a picture of him in my wallet," Vassello, 32, testified in a small claims court in West Palm Beach, Florida.
"We don't have kids," he said, his voice cracking. "That was our child. We celebrated birthdays and holidays."
Vassello and Lane would set a place for Max at the Thanksgiving dinner table, and the beloved pooch was to be the ring bearer at their wedding next year, the newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The court heard how Vassello unleashed the 3-year-old Max near the front door of his apartment complex, when the huge reptile named Diamond suddenly emerged and seized the small dog.
Vassello ran to his car, grabbed a golf club and began whacking the snake. The serpent released the dog, but Max bolted in a panic. He was found dead the next day.
Vassello and Lane have since left the apartment complex and bought a new rat terrier.
But neighbor John Corkan insisted he had no reason to get rid of Diamond. "She just does her own thing ... She's never made an attempt to bite or squeeze a person," the daily quoted him as saying.
"She's a very friendly snake, actually," added Corkan's daughter Aundi.
http://davesdaily.com/out.php?id=163...BHNlYwN5bmNhdA--
