Greenville High Boa makes cold-blooded escape
5/23/09 | 26 comments
'there's a snake'

Greenville High Boa makes cold-blooded escape


By Diana Bowley
BDN Staff

GREENVILLE, Maine — For more than two years, “Buddy” was the quiet one who never caused any problems at Greenville High School.

That changed May 12, when the 2-foot-long boa constrictor escaped his confines and hid inside an old computer printer in his room.

When school officials discovered his empty cage in a classroom Tuesday, they went into a search mode, according to Greenville Superintendent Heather Perry. Students were told to be on the lookout and, while the snake is harmless, the police department was advised, she said Friday.

“We went into the classroom where the snake was and we completely moved everything out of the classroom and searched everything,” including the heating systems, Perry said. When Buddy was not found, she said everything was put back into the classroom and the search was expanded to the rest of the school.

Despite the hundreds of eyes looking for him, Buddy was nowhere to be found until Thursday night.

Buddy had escaped notice in his new quarters even though the printer had been moved during the search. Nobody had opened up the printer to check inside, Perry said.

That old printer, which was useless to the school, was given to a student to take home and dismantle, Perry said.

That student decided to give the printer to his friend’s mom, Sarah McNinch, who had offered him a ride home Thursday afternoon.

McNinch put the printer on a bench in the hallway after she arrived home, according to her daughter Mallarie McNinch, 16. The student said she had been walking to the kitchen when she spied something on the printer move and noticed the snake’s head.

“Oh, my God, there’s a snake,” she recalled shouting. Mallarie said she screamed for her mother to take the family’s two small dogs outside and put them inside the car. She also told her mother to get the neighbor.

The neighbor, expecting a garter snake, took a step back when he realized he was looking at boa constrictor, Mallarie said Friday. “We were all flipping out at this point,” she recalled. It was then that they called Greenville police.

Sgt. Jeffrey Pomerleau, who responded to the call, managed to get the snake into a cat carrier. He said Friday that Buddy didn’t like the temporary quarters any better than Pomerleau liked snakes. And to prove it, Buddy escaped from the cat carrier in the cruiser en route to the school, prompting another capture and reconfinement.

Perry said Buddy has since been transferred to the home of a local teacher.

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Comments
26 comments on this item
On 5/22/09 at 10:17 PM, upeaster wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Nice pun. :-)

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On 5/22/09 at 10:27 PM, JoyJessun wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

the school should not be allowed to keep large snakes. This snake could kill a small child or animal!

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On 5/22/09 at 11:05 PM, Mainelyme wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

They do spring at their victims and bite into them as a means of holding them still until they can get wrapped around them.

All tropical creatures should be left in the tropics, and there should be stiff fines for anyone who brings them into other parts of the country that they are not nbative too.

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On 5/22/09 at 11:16 PM, JillT1981 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Ok Joy...first of all honey, right now, it's only 2 feet long.

Secondly, this is in a high school, not an elementary school, or a nursery school. I'm quite certain no elementary or nursery school would have a constrictor as a "pet". Boa's cannot eat full-grown people, they cannot get their jaw open wide enough to go around the shoulders. Snakes typically eat their prey head first so, it's much easier to digest smaller mammals. Any photo y'all may have seen depicting otherwise has probably been doctored, in one way or another.

Thirdly, it's a constrictor. That's what it does, it kills small animals in order to survive.

Finally, What better way to relieve a fear of them. People are only scared by what they don't know. What better way to learn about snakes, then by watching them every day, first hand knowledge...there's nothing better.

Glad Buddy was found!

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On 5/22/09 at 11:17 PM, JillT1981 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Although, the title should be worded differently, it makes it sound like it had escaped and went on a vicious rampage or something.

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On 5/23/09 at 7:34 AM, patnbun71 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Way to go Buddy.. Run Buddy Run... He wouldn't be a boa if he didn't try to escape... Just let me know who has him and I promise I won't go there.

I'm not really a snake lover of any kind, plus I have 4 small dogs that I would rather keep, ginger and jake are very old and would probably give Buddy indigestion.. besides if he got loose in my house, I would never find him so I would just have to burn it to the ground. Just kidding... I like my house.

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On 5/23/09 at 8:41 AM, CandyofBrewer wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I would like to know what type of boa. Since there are many types with different temperments. Of course here in Maine the one you see most is the central american, or "common" boa. There are tree boas, also known as Emerald Boas, which are very docile also. All boas and pythons belong to the constrictor family. And yes Perley, some do "spring at their prey and hold them by biting" These snakes are all non-poisonous. For the most part the boas you see as pets don't get much bigger then 6 feet. I myself prefer Pythons, they grow bigger and, in the case of burmesian pythons are very docile. When I worked for the New York Reptilian Society, we had a 25 ft Burmesian named Julius Squeezer...very misleading since Julie was a female, and she was the sweetest thing. She would lay on the table and let children pet her and yes sometimes the little tykes in their curiousity would pinch her. She would flinch, pick her head up and look around as if to say, Oh ok, it' s just you guys again. She was fantastic! JillT you are right, it is the fear of the unknown and of course superstitious rhetoric that causes the common phobia of snakes. IE "the Serpent in the garden of eden" the evil depiction has done great harm to all snake species. And the sad thing is that most are useful as pest defense.

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On 5/23/09 at 8:56 AM, hardworkingmom wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I have had a boa as a pet and they are for the most part docile. This is not to say that they can't be aggressive if they feel threatened or are not used to being around humans. a two foot boa is just a baby and I applaud Greenville for coming out of the dark ages and allowing the kids there to experience different kinds of animal life, besides the local yocals, IE the drunks and party people. Go Buddy!!!!!!!!

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On 5/23/09 at 9:03 AM, jennapea wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I am not fond of snakes. BUT this story gave good chuckle while eating my breakfast. Glad Buddy is found and okay!

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On 5/23/09 at 11:23 AM, dkenzie77 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Great job Greenville Police. Another wonderful job done by the policd departments. Wonder if he was getting coffee when the call came in lol

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On 5/23/09 at 12:25 PM, ammo1971 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I hate snakes. I would have pee'd on myself.

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On 5/23/09 at 3:01 PM, Metem2 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

LoL ..really it is funny at some point. I would have loved to seen Jeff in this situation. Bet it didn’t take Jeff long to get out of the cruiser

Just happy that the family found it before any harm. As they were really the victims in this . Would just seem that a snake of this type would have had a locked cage .harmless, or not.

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On 5/23/09 at 3:16 PM, rwillett wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I agree with Mainelyme, that All tropical creatures should be left in the tropics. The state of Florida has a problem with Pythons. People decide they no longer want them and dump them off in the Everglades, where they are adapting. If that Boa was found in my home, I would have minced it up with my machete!!!

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On 5/23/09 at 4:48 PM, chersully2000 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I agree too. These snakes should be left in their habitat (tropics). I have heard about that problem with pythons in Florida. Sometimes it is best to leave things be instead of introducing certain creatures (in this case , pythons) into an unnatural environment for them. What?....do some folks think it would be just fine to see huge lizards "walking" around in Maine....come on!

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On 5/23/09 at 5:51 PM, Ladyslipper wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

They should have named Buddy...Houdini ...

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On 5/23/09 at 8:37 PM, JD2008 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

dkenzie77...you have a one track mind...are you over compensating for something?

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On 5/24/09 at 10:40 AM, Mainelyme wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

CandyofBrewer

Funny letter

As Woody Allen once said, "The most laughs without actually having sex."

Like another poster said, people use these creatures for the novelty then when it wears off they just discard them in dumpsters or in public parks.

The temperatures here in New York City are not conducive to creatures native to rain forests for at least ten months out of the year, and a man down in the villiage is on private call to rescue these carelessly discarded pets and give them a new home.

I've seriously thought about getting an attack snake myself. I'll keep it until the novelty of me wears off in others.

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On 5/25/09 at 8:51 AM, carlshedderly wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

This is actually a pretty funny story,but not as funny as the comments..I like the vision of a 24 inch snake pouncing upon and devouring a child or small dog..lol..Come ON people....lol..Thanks for the early morning laugh tho.....

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On 5/25/09 at 8:52 AM, carlshedderly wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

"GREENVILLE, Maine — For more than two years, “Buddy” was the quiet one who never caused any problems at Greenville High School"....LOL..it is always the quiet ones that you have to watch....lol..

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On 5/25/09 at 12:37 PM, patycat wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I wonder if will sneak into Canada

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On 5/25/09 at 7:53 PM, carlshedderly wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Not now,Probably Buddy is on the watch list now. Poor Buddy....

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On 5/26/09 at 1:30 AM, moosereiver wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If Buddy escapes into the woods of Maine, I daresay a Maine winter will vanquish his enthusiasm.

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On 5/26/09 at 9:01 AM, carlshedderly wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

L.L.Bean makes a nice boa bean boot,Im sure if Buddy gets one,he is golden..

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On 5/26/09 at 2:03 PM, beezer03_2003 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Hello,

I am the teacher that now has the snake. There needs to be a correction...the snake was not a boa, but a ball python. It was housed in a high-school environment, after being donated to the school last year. The snake has always been very friendly, and is also very small. In no way could the snake kill anyone in the school.

Buddy is currently in good shape at home, and is missing his fellow friends at the school.

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On 5/26/09 at 11:22 PM, carlshedderly wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Ive always thought that Ball pythons were more amiable than boas.They seem less...angry ,somehow.I love Monty Python too..Thanks for the clarification..But ,Buddy still needs some winter duds if he is going to be doing walkabouts n the winter..{slitherabouts?}Maybe we could do a yard sale benefit?calling all cheesemakers?

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On 5/27/09 at 8:48 PM, forsheissolemn wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I am currently a student at Greenville High School and would just like to say that it must have been a VERY slow news day when this story was run. Might I first point out that Buddy is NOT a boa, he is a python. Also, this snake is VERY small and VERY slow. As far as the whole search for the snake went, it wasn't that big of a deal. Sure there was a chance that a snake was somewhere in the school, but come on, it is a classroom pet, not some wild killing machine. The thing barely moves! Us students were informed that the snake may be in the loose, but many of us didn't really care. So, there wasn't an expaned school wide search. Also it is not believed that the snake escaped from its cage and into the printer. The printer was high on a shelf where it would be impossible for the snake to get to. It is VERY probable that the snake was taken from its cage by a student and put into the printer. Though, the student who was given the printer certainly did not put the snake there. It was probably some kid trying to play a joke on the teacher who owns the snake. Also, why the police put the snake into a cat carrier is beyond me! Of course Buddy could escape from that! I think it is amusing how the word "capture" is being associated with this snake when, as I have emphasised already, this snake is a CLASSROOM PET. Does anyone understand how many students have handled this harmless snake? Its as harmless as any other pet! The only reason this whole story is in anyway been made interesting is becuase it involves a false boa constrictor, terrified policemen, and terrified people over a PET snake. If my pet snake happens to be found outside it's cage, I'll be expecting the Front Page!!! Hehe.

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