An Illinois woman had quite a shock Wednesday when she opened her washing machine to find a snake inside.

“I closed the lid and started screaming,” Sanela Kamencic, from Evanston, Ill., told NBC 5.

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"I was totally creeped out," she added. "How did a snake get in the house let alone the washer?"

The snake was brought to the Chicago Exotics Animal Hospital by Evanston police and Animal Control Warden Jason Pound.

"I could smell it and could tell that it had actually been through a cycle," Pound told NBC 5. "Smelled like Downy."

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Turns out, the corn snake -- named Penelope -- was the escaped pet of a 12-year-old neighbor. Radio station WBBM reported Penelope had been missing for three days.

"Surprisingly the snake looks in pretty good shape. She's really feisty," veterinarian Dr. Melissa Giese told the station.

Penelope and her owner have since been reunited.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.