Who would’ve seen this coming?
Okay, pretty much everyone… except for the man who thought it was a good idea to kiss a rattlesnake.
Florida resident Charles Goff, who said he has experience with snakes, found the serpent and put it in a tank. The next day, his neighbors decided to tease the captive when one came up with the bright idea to give it a smooch.
UPDATE: Family tells @RussellANjax #Florida man bitten on tongue by rattlesnake yesterday in Putnam Co. was attempting to kiss the snake. pic.twitter.com/GyoD3mf2AU
— Tenikka Smith Hughes (@TenikkaANjax) May 17, 2017
“The next morning before I got up, they were playing with the snake,” Goff recalled in a story by Acton News Jax. “One boy said, ‘I’m going to kiss it in the mouth,’ and the snake bit him in the face.”
The man’s name is Ron Reinold, and the location of the injury was quite specific: his tongue.
Reinold was airlifted to the hospital. Soon after, one family member reported on a post, “He was put in a coma & was not supposed to wake up for days. He woke up & is signing with his hands.”
Reinolds’ family member’s post: “He was put in a coma & was not supposed to wake up for days. He woke up & is signing with his hands.” pic.twitter.com/abJ5RyhzeS
— Russell Colburn (@RussellANjax) May 17, 2017
Goff suspects that the spectators released the snake after the incident. “So the snake is still out here running around somewhere,” he said in the story.
On the lethal smooch, he commented, “I guess he said he could kiss the devil and get away with it, but evidently he didn’t.”
Reinold is doing well and is expected to survive, though he’s darn lucky. We hope he learned his lesson: if you don’t respect animals, they won’t respect you back.
(h/t: Acton News Jax)
