Snake Devours Pet on Patio

CHATSWORTH —  One day after watching her beloved Chihuahua be devoured by a 7 1/2-foot boa constrictor on the patio of her home, a 74-year-old West Hills woman launched a campaign to outlaw exotic animals in residential neighborhoods.

“I want to know where this snake came from,” Jackie Torgerson, who is circulating a petition among her neighbors, said Sunday. “I want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else. It could have gone after someone’s kid.”

Animal control authorities in Los Angeles believe the snake was someone’s pet that somehow got loose. The owner, who remains unknown, will not face charges, although it is illegal to own an animal like a boa constrictor in Los Angeles without a permit, they said.

At a news conference at the West Valley Animal Service Center, a shelter where authorities brought the snake, Torgerson displayed photographs of a snake choking what appeared to be a furry animal. The photographs were evidence that the snake ate her dog, Babette, a long-haired Chihuahua, she said.

“Babette went out her little doggy door to go potty,” Torgerson said. “She screamed when the snake grabbed her.”

Peter Persic, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Animal Regulation, said such cases are rare. The snake may have crawled up a wall to enter the home’s enclosed patio, he said.

“It appears that the snake did eat the dog, based on the photographs,” Persic said. “It’s not unusual for boas to escape, but fortunately we don’t get calls very often that they’ve eaten a pet.”

Earlier this year, a stray python was found in the Mid-Wilshire district by a man who was taking out his trash. Pythons and boa constrictors typically crush their prey to death.

During the news conference Sunday, the snake, sporting a noticeable bulge in its midsection, poked its face into photographers’ cameras and flicked its tongue as it moved sluggishly in the arms of an animal handler.

“It’s obviously someone’s pet, it’s so friendly,” said Persic.

Persic said that if the snake is not claimed in five days, it will be donated to the Los Angeles Zoo or the Wildlife Waystation.

Meanwhile, Torgerson said she is trying to recover from her loss.

She said she was in her kitchen making coffee shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday when she heard Babette’s frenzied yelps. The six-inch-tall dog weighed far less than the 25-pound snake.

Torgerson said she quickly dialed 911. An operator put her through to animal control authorities, she said.

While she waited for the officials to arrive, she and her son, Michael, snapped several pictures of the snake devouring her pet.

She said she will miss the dog, which was her closest companion since her husband died nine years ago on the day of their 45th wedding anniversary.

Caring for Babette also kept her mind off the chronic arthritis and other age-related ailments that afflicted her, she said.

“She was the sweetest little thing you ever seen. Everyone adored her, everyone wanted to pet her,” said Torgerson, who bought the Chihuahua two years ago when it was 3 months old. “We were totally inseparable all the time.”

During the day, Torgerson took Babette on errands, carrying her in a special sling worn in front of her body similar to those used to transport infants. She also had her own unique fleece-lined car seat.

“She liked to drive around and look out the window. I tried to give her a ride every day,” Torgerson said.

At night, they fell asleep together.

“She’d press her little back into mine and get as close to me as she could,” Torgerson said.