Michael Hathaway thought someone was playing a prank on him.

Hathaway, the owner of Kaslo-based Mountain Man Mikesa国际传媒檚 bus service, was doing an inspection on a vehicle Friday when he spotted what he thought was a rubber snake sticking out of a heater vent.

sa国际传媒淚 figured that somebody had just jokingly added this snake to try to scare us,sa国际传媒� he said.

Hathaway continued on with his work, but when he doubled back, he realized the rubber snake was moving.

Hathaway is not a snake expert sa国际传媒� the last time he said hesa国际传媒檇 been near a snake was in elementary school sa国际传媒� but he knew the snake was not in good condition in the hot vehicle. Unsure if the snake was venomous or not, Hathaway grabbed a cardboard box, picked up the snake with his hands and took it home.

sa国际传媒淲hen you own a company, sometimes you just have to buck up and do it yourself,sa国际传媒� he said.

Itsa国际传媒檚 not clear where the snake came from. Hathaway said the vehicle had just finished six straight days of service that took two round trip from Kaslo to Vancouver and another to Calgary.

Hathaway says hesa国际传媒檚 still working on finding the owner and also plans to take the snake to a vet for a medical check.

In Kaslo, however, the snake has found an unexpected home.

Hathawaysa国际传媒檚 wife Laurian, he said, was initially scared of the snake but has already begun bonding with it. His two children meanwhile have already named it Cream Corn.

Community members also identified it as a corn snake, which are docile and often used as pets, and chipped in for the new arrival. If they cansa国际传媒檛 find the owner, Hathaway said his family will adopt it.

sa国际传媒淲e put out a call to the community and we had people come through with tanks, heat rocks, heat lamps, basically all the snake supplies we needed to keep the snake temporarily,sa国际传媒� said Hathaway. sa国际传媒淗esa国际传媒檚 in a tank now and seems to be happy.sa国际传媒�

has been in operation since May 2019, but this is the first time Hathaway has had a snake as a passenger. He said itsa国际传媒檚 unlikely to happen again, but just to be safe his staff will increase spot checks on baggage.

sa国际传媒淚 think the only danger in this situation is that somebody would hurt the snake by reacting to it the wrong way.sa国际传媒�

| tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
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