Country Connections By James and Ellen Perry
While sitting on my front porch this late August afternoon listening to Tony Williams and the Platters’ version of “Sleepy Lagoon,” my mind wanders back to the early 1980s.
My family and I lived in Dothan, Alabama. The house next door sold and a new family moved in. They were from New Jersey and had bought the local Greyhound Bus Station. The people who owned the Greyhound franchise for Dothan had built a new bus station in a more accessible part of Dothan.
Well, we did not have any idea what the New Jersey transplants planned to do with the old Greyhound terminal which is located close to downtown. The first thing they changed next door was to put up a large red night light on their house.
A few days later they brought in a fully grown African male lion which they chained to a tree in their backyard which joined our backyard. We had three young boys at home and they had one.
Every now and then that lion would let out a loud roar which woke up the neighborhood. We also found out that our neighbor was opening a night club in the old Greyhound terminal and his (I guess) wife was an exotic dancer and used the lion in her routine.
A lot of bad things happened in relation to that new night club. A few months later the lion broke loose and ran through the yard with our three sons playing in our yard.
John Williams who lived across the street was the news anchor at WTVY Channel 4 in Dothan. This did not set well with John, so with his connections and the fact that he could shed light on the bad happenings connected to the new night club, the lion soon disappeared and so did the new night club. Then our neighbors were gone. About this time a lady was killed and dragged into a local forest and partially eaten by a lion near Troy, Alabama.
It’s amazing to me as to what people will bring into their homes and expose danger to their families and friends and refer to these dangerous animals as pets.
I met a man up near the Tri-Cities who called himself a serpentologist. He had a live collection of some of the most poisonous snakes from all over the world. He had his collection in his basement, and it included the largest venomous snake from South America known as the bushmaster, which can grow to over 12 feet in length.
A bite from this snake requires medical help immediately with anti-venom. Even after medical anti-venom treatment a limb usually must be amputated.
All herpetologist who either raise these venomous deadly snakes are supposed to be licensed by the U.S. government and most states where they reside. There are some who operate underground and profit from sales of these deadly snakes to private individuals.
There are over 5 million venomous snake bites every year worldwide. There are 86,000-136,000 deaths from venomous snakebites. The country with the most fatal snakebites is India.
Constrictor snakes (Burmese pythons, boas, anacondas) are also sold as pets and have killed many people over the years. Due to people turning these constrictors loose after they attain large sizes, and the results of the pet retail sales buildings in south Florida being destroyed by hurricanes, these large snakes escape reproduce and are destroying the animal population in the Everglades and are gradually moving north as they acclimate.
Alligators and crocodiles are sold by pet shops. They are caught by people when they are young in the deep south and sold to tourists who bring them home. Most are put in the spare bathtubs until they grow too large and either escape or are taken to local waters and released. A few years ago, two alligators about three feet long were found in Norris Lake. Alligators cannot survive in East Tennessee because of our cold winters and not being able to catch prey.
Next is my pet peeve. Why does anyone need to have a dog for a pet that is bred for fighting? People who have these dogs know which breed I am talking about. The answer is the pit bull and pit bull mix.
Since 2005 through 2020 dogs have killed 568 people across the U.S. Of these 568 killed, 380 were killed by pit bulls or pit bull mixed dogs. The Humane Society claims there are upward of 4.5 million dog bites in the U.S. with 30-50 fatalities annually.
In 2021 there were 44 deaths by dog bites with 26 by pit bulls. These are not my figures, but are figures kept by the Humane Society and other organizations. I personally believe these figures are low because some organizations do not want to publish the actual facts.
I think people (humans) need to use common sense when choosing pets especially when children are in the home. If you are single, lonesome and want a 200 lb. 16 ft. python, why go ahead, and get one, plus a 90 lb. pit bull and maybe a lion for companionship.
But remember that more people are killed by pet dogs every year in the U.S. than by bears, snakes, sharks and alligators combined. See you later.