Saturday, April 20, 2024
Like many people whose pet goes missing, Angela Justice posted on social media, begging the community to be on the lookout in hopes that her non-human family member would be safely returned to her.
Unlike most of those people, though, Justice’s pet isn’t a cat or an adventurous pooch. It’s a 5-foot ball python named Vicky.
Although Vicky might jump-start a heart attack for those who don’t share Justice’s warm feelings for snakes, Justice stressed that the python is docile and poses no danger to small children or pets.
The non-venomous snake species is called a ball python because of its tendency to curl into a tight ball when frightened or stressed.
The sub-Saharan African species is also referred to as the royal python because, according to legend, African rulers such as Cleopatra wore them as jewelry.
The heads of ball pythons are small, and they mostly eat mice and birds.
Vicky is missing somewhere in Sky Harbour because someone didn’t securely close the sliding top on her cage at the mobile home on Capricorn Drive where she has lived for 20 years.
The python has been missing for eight days, since Friday of last week. Although some people posted on social media that Vicky is probably hiding somewhere in the house, Justice doesn’t think so.
She said that Vicky’s aquarium is in a mud room where there is a secure metal door leading into the house but there is a rip in the screen door that leads outside as well as a gap between the screen door and the floor.
She feels it is much more likely that Vicky is somewhere outside, where she is exposed to danger and could frighten those who may not understand that she is not dangerous.
“She’s more likely to roll up into a ball and try to hide than try to strike anybody,” the 2005 Granbury High School graduate said.
The mobile home on Capricorn is where Justice’s parents, Mary and Steve Walton, live. Justice said that her own family is currently living at a place where pets are not allowed, so she left Vicky in the care of her parents.
Justice, who works for Harbor Lakes Plaza Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, is mom to three boys, ages 2, 6 and 8.
Although according to Justice, Vicky is not a danger to Sky Harbour residents, its residents – namely hawks, coyotes and motorists – pose a danger to her.
BELOVED PET
Justice said that she has always been fascinated by critters, including snakes and tarantulas. At age 13 she begged her mother to let her have a pet snake.
Over and over again her mother said no.
But then one day, Justice, with help from her young nephews, wore Mary down while the family was waiting at a dentist office as Steve was given a root canal.
“She was like, ‘I don’t care. Steve, what do you think about it?’” Justice recalled, adding that her dad, probably because he was under the influence of medication, didn’t put up a fight.
Not long after that, Justice held her mom to her word. They went to a Fort Worth pet shop and purchased baby Vicky for $30 instead of the $300 the shop owner intended to charge because an employee had placed the python in the wrong aquarium.
Justice said she chose the name Vicky, intending it to stand for “victory” – specifically, the victory she finally had over her mother.
Over the years, the Waltons came to accept the slithery pet that lived under their roof, although Mary didn’t want to touch Vicky or be around her during family meal times.
As for Steve, “he doesn’t think snakes are warm and cuddly, but he likes having her around,” Justice stated.
Justice asks anyone who spots Vicky to please contact Animal Control (817-573-4277) or call her at home (817-573-3204) or on her cell phone (817-894-1433).
The animal lover wants to protect her wayward python the way she feels her pet python used to protect her when she would walk around the neighborhood with Vicky draped around her neck.
“Not many people will bother a young girl if she’s got a snake around her neck,” Justice said.
