DALLAS — Native critters and house pets on the run can cause a big problem when they get into nooks and crevices they aren't supposed to be in. Annually, homeowners in Texas communities receive millions of dollars worth of insurance claims to clean up and animal-proof their property as best as they can.
In North Texas, Randall Kennedy, with Dallas Fort Worth Wildlife Control is responsible for removing wildlife that gets too close for comfort with humans. Every day Kennedy receives dozens of emergency calls ranging from rodents in the attic to bobcat removals. Earlier this month, however, Kennedy received an unusual call from the Grand Prairie Police Department. A pet cobra got out of its enclosure, and is now slithering on the loose.
"If everyone actively in the neighborhood looked for the snake, chances are they may find it," said Kennedy.
Kennedy placed 24 custom-made cobra traps he and his wife designed within 24 hours around the homeowner's house and throughout the neighborhood. The cobra has been missing for three weeks and counting, and there's still no sign of it. Luckily, Kennedy says the snake is highly unlikely to reproduce, unless it found another pet cobra to mate with.
"The winter, birds of prey, and the cars are really the only threats. "It's from the savanna and it's hotter than hell here, so it can make it."
Kennedy and neighbors check on the traps daily, but until it's caught there's always another emergency call for service. While out in the Grand Prairie neighborhood, the wildlife trapper received a call to rush to Fort Worth because of a bobcat on the loose inside a recycling facility.
"That fear and anxiety, it's gone," said Kennedy.
Kennedy has more than 25 years' worth of experience humanely capturing wild animals. Once he's able to wrangle them into a cage, they often go to a temporary animal rehabilitation sanctuary to recover before being released in the wild.
"We want to treat these animals the way we would want to be treated," said Kennedy. "If I'm not going to eat it, I'm not going to kill it. That's just how I was raised."
Kennedy has the ability to handle every call with pride, knowing his customers are relieved, while the animals are given a second chance. He takes most of them to Parker County where animal rehabilitator Donna Robinson helps comfort and heal the animals using money out of her own pocket, and the few donations she receives.
"I was told by my mentor if you lose one or have to put one down and you don't cry, then you need to stop what you're doing," said Robinson, who runs Squeezle Farm out of her home in Weatherford.
