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Paul and I met for the second time when we were 24 years old. We had gone to school together when we were younger, but had not seen one another in years. When we started dating, the first thing he
bought me was a 22 rifle. We spent our free time target shooting, and...shooting snakes. We were ignorant about snakes and just patted outselves on the back and told ourselves that one of the snakes
we shot just might have bitten someone, and hadn't we done a great job, saving someone that misery. We were happy carefree hunters. Then, one day, we spotted a large snake crossing the gravel road
ahead of us. We could see it stretched out and appeared 5-6 feet long. We were in our Corvair convertible. I put the gun on the top of the windshield and fired. Again. Again. We got him, I was
sure. We put the car in gear and approached our quarry. As we got close enough to identify the snake, I was shocked. I did not know much about snakes, but I had been told that a king snake was a
"good" snake that killed other snakes, and I knew what a kingsnake looked like.....all black with yellow specks. And now, lying there on the ground in front of us was a large dead kingsnake ! I felt
as if I wanted to throw up. I told Paul at that point, "No more snake killing for me. I feel bad. He was a good snake. My ignorance caused his death.". Today we only shoot at targets.
So, our next step was to go to the library and learn about snakes. (way before internet days) We got books and read, and decided we wanted a pet snake. We went out in the woods and were lucky enough
to catch a large king snake like the one we had killed. This guy was really big and did not think much of being a pet. We fixed him a nice cage, but he only struck the glass if we came close, and he
hissed and pooped when we tried to hold him. We got him a mouse thinking maybe he was hungry, but he only struck at it and would not eat. After a couple of weeks, we turned him loose, and decided to
make a trip to Houston, Texas to look for a pet snake. We went to a pet shop that had a 10 gallon aquarium with lots of babies. We purchased a male and a female, and were delighted they did not have
the disposition of the kingsnake. They made no real attempt to bite, and felt like silk between my fingers. We enjoyed them very much, and then, four years later, awoke one morning to a small litter
of 9 baby boas. I was "hooked". They were so cute and perfect little replicas of the mom and dad. That was in 1980.
We had opened a pet shop ourselves in 1976, and had all the animals a normal shop would have, but we began to specialize in snakes. We sold a few dogs and cats, but soon
decided these animals were not really good for a pet shop. But, the reptiles did really well. We began to stock lizards and snakes of various kinds, and I was the dog groomer taking care of that part
of the business. Paul waited on customers and cleaned cages. Being located halfway between New Orleans and Houston, we had opportunities to purchase boas that people had to get rid of for one reason
or another. By now I had decided I wanted to breed boas, so my collection grew to quite a number of snakes. I tried to breed the best to the best for color, and always took into consideration that I
wanted my snakes to have good temperament as well. I spent lots of time on the phone talking to other herpers, and again, before the internet, tried to discern between the different sub-species of
boas. In all my years of herping, I have only received four snakes with paperwork, and none of the people who brought snakes to the shop to sell me a snake had any paperwork. I bred what I believed
and still believe were Colombians. Every year, we had one, two, or three litters of babies, and I was still always trying to improve my bloodlines.
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