CAMDEN — Camden police said Sept. 13 that the python they picked up while it was sleeping in a neighborhood garden has been reunited with its owner after spending the night at Pope Memorial Humane Society, in Thomaston.

Camden Police Officer Mark Bennett said Wednesday that the snake had been missing from the owner’s home for close to a month. The owner had reported to police that she had inadvertently left the door open and the snake probably escaped at that point.

The snake lives in a home with a special reptile environment for it, police said.

CAMDEN — Anyone missing a python, or a python look-alike? If so, the snake is traveling in a cardboard box in the back of a Camden police cruiser to the Pope Memorial Humane Society.

Police Chief Randy Gagne picked up the snake from a garden on Eaton Ave., a residential neighborhood on the east side of Camden Harbor, just after lunchtime, Sept. 12. 

A woman had called 911, after she discovered the python slumbering amongst her flowers. She had been weeding the garden when she discovered the curled-up snake.

Gagne arrived, along with officers Mark Bennett and Allen Weaver. They proceeded to assess situation and secure the scene. While the snake slept.

“He appears to be a healthy snake and lethargic for being out last night,” said Gagne. “It was cold.”

He said that the snake was not bulging and there were no reports of missing cats nor dogs.

Gagne was the one who picked the snake up.

“There were three grown men,” he said, “alternating between, ‘you pick him up,’ ‘no, you grab him.”

Being the chief, the job fell to Gagne.

They procured a pillow case, gently put the snake in it, and then into a “sturdy” box, said Gagne.

The snake is approximately four feet in length, and is going to Thomaston’s animal shelter because P.A.W.S, in Camden, does not accommodate snakes. 

If one is missing a python, call Pope Memorial Humane Society, 207-594-2200.

Camden first responders have a history of tending to animal calls. Just this summer, there was the case of the Wandering cow calves in Camden woods, helped home by police after long night.

And then, there was  For May the Pig, an unplanned stroll in Camden has happy ending.

Earlier in the summer, Camden firefighter Matt Heath rescued a cat from the tree. 

Several years ago (well, more than several), Gagne had rescued a fawn on the harbor, and then many years ago, he and other Camden officers herded a young moose that had gotten turned around in the indoor parking lot of the Knox Mill back on the trail.

Not to mention, the runaway pony dragging an empty carriage.

Animals have a way of getting into Camden life.

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657