The Shallotte Police Department removed the ball python from the lot and helped reunite the pet with its owner
Shallotte Police Department
Python removed from Chili’s parking lot in Shallotte, N.C.
Hide your appetizers; the snakes are trying to get into Chili’s.
On Nov. 5, North Carolina’s Shallotte Police Department posted on Facebook about an unusual discovery officers made in the parking lot outside a local Chili’s.
“Today officers were dispatched to a large snake in the area of Chili’s. They encountered this python,” the police department shared, adding that an officer safely recovered the reptile from the lot.
The post included two photos of the python found outside the casual dining restaurant. One picture shows an officer holding the snake, showing off the reptile’s length. The other photo offers a close-up look at the python.
After removing the snake, the Shallotte Police Department started to suspect the reptile might be someone’s missing pet. The officers were correct.
The snake found outside of Chili’s belonged to Christen Schiel, who had been searching for the ball python for two months.
Shallotte Police Department
Shallotte Police Department officer with ball python found in Chili’s parking lot
“That beautiful snake is my baby girl, Una,” Schiel told WECT. “She is the best snake anyone could ever have, and I’ve been missing her deeply for the past two months.”
The python parent believes the missing snake somehow found its way into her car and slipped out while she visited Chili’s on Nov. 5.
Related: Man Discovers Wild Python Hiding in His Toilet Twice in One Week
After Schiel learned about the snake the Shallotte Police Department found, she knew it was Una. The pair reunited at the Brunswick Animal Shelter on Nov. 6.
Shallotte Police Department
Snake found in Chili’s parking lot
Schiel said that reuniting with Una “was one of the best days of my life because she means a lot to me, just like how someone’s cat or dog means to them. She is a great companion.”
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Una is not the only snake to appear in an unexpected place this month. On Nov. 5, the same day Una appeared in Chili’s parking lot, a South Carolina woman discovered a python behind her toilet. The woman was shocked because she didn’t own a pet python.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department removed the snake from the home and is looking after it to see if an owner comes forward to claim the python, which the agency assumes is a pet.