Pet store owner takes in snakes, rats seized from Smithfield home

March 20, 2018 11:27 pm

By: John Krinjak

Email: jkrinjak@abc6.com

Twitter: @johnkrinjakABC6

JOHNSTON, R.I. (WLNE) — Cart after cart, drawer after drawer full of exotic, high priced snakes — nearly 100 in all — were unloaded from a U-Haul and into Pure Paradise Pets in Johnston Tuesday night. Now, staff are working to make sure they’re given heat, food, and water as quickly as possible.

"It’s just the quantity, the denomination, the volume. My store is 6-thousand square feet. I have the whole front of my shop locked up with just bins of snakes," said store owner James Arnold.

They were all found in a Smithfield home Tuesday, along with 25 dogs who were living in filth.

"A number of dogs were living in crates that were filled with accumulating feces, urine. They were standing in feces," said officer Joe Warzycha of the RISPCA.

Michael Williams and Michael Ramos are charged with at least 25 counts of animal cruelty. Officials believe the bulldog mixes were being bred and sold across state lines.

"I’m sure we were putting ourselves at risk just by being in there and I don’t know how they live in there. It’s a hazard to humans as much as it is to the animals," said Warzycha.

Despite the putrid conditions, Arnold says the snakes, which he estimates to be worth a hundred thousand dollars, are in good condition.

"To me the snakes are in good health, aside from a few bins that are dirty, some old food, some bad bedding, but other than that everything’s fine," said Arnold.

Arnold is also the recipient of all these rats found in the home.

"I stopped counting at like 240, 250," said Arnold.

It’s unclear what will happen to these animals, but Arnold says he’ll care for them for the time being.

"Until the gentleman can figure out if he is going to get them back or he’s going to forfeit them or if he is going to pay us to keep them here and house them for him. He has three options," said Arnold.