A NSW woman has endured a nasty shock after finding her pet dog, that had been chained in its kennel, swallowed by a python.

The Lismore woman approached the kennel of her Chihuahua-Maltese cross, only to find a 2.5 metre carpet python in its place, with the bulge of the dog’s body still visible, reports Fairfax.

Images from the incident were originally posted to the WIRES Facebook site.





The woman, who had chained the dog up so it did not stray out to harm nearby wildlife, was initially upset and shocked, before contacting the Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES).

When volunteers from WIRES arrived, they found the python still in the kennel with the chain emerging from its mouth.

A volunteer from WIRES handles the python with care. More

Sue Ulyatt, WIRES Northern Rivers secretary, told Fairfax: “She realised that she had made a dreadful mistake. She hadn't thought about the possibility of a snake taking the dog.

“The lady went out to let dog off the chain, but instead of the dog being on the chain, it was large carpet python.

“It's only the second incident like this we've had in over 10 years. Usually it's the other way around, the snake comes off second best,” added Mrs Ulyatt, who also indicated that the snake may require surgery to remove the chain before being released back into the wild.

"Chaining up a dog in a wildlife area is certainly a responsible thing to do, but the dog was too small. It should have been inside."



