“If you’re going to be bitten by a venomous snake, that’s the one you want to get bitten by,” he said.

Charlton said that he’s heard of people finding snakes “in all sorts of crazy places,” including kitchens and even a dorm room. He said a snake the size of the one that bit Myrick could wriggle through small spaces because it would be about as big around as a Magic Marker.

“It’s hard to keep them out,” he said. “It’s made me very leery about where I put my hands and feet.”

Clem said that people are disbelieving when he tells them that his girlfriend was bitten by a copperhead at a restaurant.

“Anybody you talk to, they say, ‘What happened? What?’ They think that there’s not even a possibility that this could happen.”

LongHorn spokesman Hunter Robinson said in an email that the restaurant chain’s primary concern is for Myrick’s well-being, and wants to provide any assistance that it can.

“This was a highly unusual incident, and we are working with our facilities team to see how this may have occurred and we are taking steps to prevent it from happening again,” he said.