‘Mason Neck – Blue Racer Snake – 5-9-09’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’

I walked past a guy yesterday as he was on the phone and all I heard him say was “Yeah, you know that I’d make Maryland farther away if I could.” It seemed like a somewhat dismissive sentiment at the time (though I do wish the WaPo food reviews weren’t so Rockville-centric) but given the snake emergency I’m starting to think he had a point.

Christian Pitillo of Gaithersburg is apparently a sub-par pet-sitter, as a 3 to 4 foot golden burmese python managed to get away under his supervision. Wildlife officials say the snake isn’t big enough to be dangerous and is unlikely to survive the winter if it’s not reclaimed, so you can probably sleep easy so long as you don’t tend to travel with mice in your pockets. Perhaps you should, though – Pitillo is offering a $100 rewards to anyone who finds the snake.