Hero dogs save owner from 5-foot macajuel

Sheila Hosein hailed her dogs Hunter and Conan as heroes yesterday after they rescued her from a five-foot snake, which slithered into the gallery of her home on Thursday night. The snake, believed to be a macajuel, got the attention of the dogs shortly after midnight. As it slithered into Hosein’s front porch at Torrance Street, Mon Repos, Hunter (a mastif) and Conan (a Doberman) cornered it.

Their barks awoke Hosein and her friend Kelyn Fanovich. Hosein said when she peeped out of her window she saw the snake striking her dogs. “I started to scream when I saw it. It looked as thick as my hand. The dogs were making a lot of noise. Every time they got close the snake’s head went up,” Hosein said. Crippled with fear, Hosein said she temporarily forgot the phone numbers for her children. She found her address book and dialed her son Ray.

Half-an-hour later, he arrived with some acid. By then the dogs had followed the snake into the tiled porch. It continued to be aggressive. Ray threw acid on the snake and it became docile. He then used a piece of plank to kill it. Hosein said she was scared that more snakes would enter her property. She explained that snakes and rodents live in an overgrown lot behind her home and nobody in authority was doing anything about it.

Over the past few months, Hosein said, she appealed to the San Fernando City Corporation to cut the bushes but it was never done. “I was told that the land belongs to HDC. Now that this happened, I am going to send a lawyer’s letter and sue the State,” Hosein said. She added that she was now afraid to stay in the house. “I living here for 43 years and now I don’t think I can stay here now. The dogs already killed three manicous and now this snake. I want the authorities to cut the bushes immediately,” Hosein said.

mayor responds

San Fernando mayor Dr Navi Muradali said yesterday he will liaise with Councillor Shaka Joseph regarding the matter. He said any recommendations Joseph makes will be examined by the council.