Snake found with chain dangling from mouth after eating dog

A horrified woman turned up to walk her pet Chihuahua but saw a bloated 8ft python stuck in its place still attached to the kennel with the dog's chain dangling from it's mouth.

The tiny dog up had been chained up in the back garden the night before to stop it attacking the wildlife.

But it ended up as a meal for a deadly eight-foot snake after it slithered into the kennel looking for food.

When the woman went outside to free the Chihuahua-Maltese cross, she found the bulging snake.

As it hissed, the chain could be seen hanging from its reptilian lips which was still anchored to a post at her home in Caniaba, New South Wales, Australia.

The slithering predator was so full wildlife experts had to be called when the pet-owner realised the snake was unable to escape either.

Sue Ulyatt of the Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service said the dog's owner didn't blame the 2.5 metre python.

Mrs Ulyatt said: "She'd actually done the right thing by chaining up her dog, because she lives in an area with wildlife.

"She went out in the morning to let the dog off the chain, but instead of the dog being there it was this large python.

"She called WIRES for help because the dog was now, you know, attached to the chain.

"She was obviously very upset by the whole situation."

It's the second time in ten years a dog has been eaten by a snake in the area.

The wildlife experts were hoping the snake might regurgitate the chain and the dog.

But the snake refused to give the dog back.

The reptile was later taken local wildlife hospital to undergo surgery to remove not just the chain, but the remains of the dog.

Mrs Ulyatt added: "It's usually the other way around; the snake comes off second best.

"But in this case, because the dog was chained up, it couldn't get away.

"It was also a very small dog."