THE EVERGLADES, FLA. (WSVN) – A python hunter has teamed up with some mighty canines to help sniff out snakes, but one of them is no ordinary hunting dog.
Deep in the Florida Everglades in the dead of night, exploring islands on the East Coast is Mike Kimmel, the self-proclaimed “Python Cowboy.”
“All right, heading out. I got old Spazzy McGee here and Stevie Wonder up front,” said Kimmel.
Hunting pythons is not for the weak.
“Pythons is probably the hardest thing I hunt. Success rates are usually pretty low. Any tool we can use to give us kind of a leg up and an advantage, I knew we needed to use,” said Kimmel.
The Martin County trapper eradicates these invasive snakes for a living. And unlike most hunters, he brings backup, including a blind dog, appropriately named Helen Killer.
“On the boat and in the truck, Helen doesn’t know what to do. But once her feet hit that island, she goes right to work,” said Kimmel.
Helen Killer is not seeing impaired but has no eyeballs.
“I’m taking out my dog Helen Killer to find some pythons. All she’s got is that nose; she got no eyes, she barely got any ears,” said Kimmel.
The “Python Cowboy” said that for his trusty steed, it’s a blessing in disguise. An amplified sense of smell helps the pup track down the elusive apex predators that are notoriously hard to spot in the wild.
“It’s always extra rewarding to be able to take a dog in a bad situation — a rescue, a dog that’s blind, whatever it may be — and to be able to give it a purpose, almost use its disability for its advantage, in a way,” said Kimmel.
During a hunt across the alley last week, Helen Killer lived up to her name after a few hours of sniffing.
“Yo! Python!” said Kimmel. “Travis, come here! Good girl! Good dog, come here, baby.”
Helen has no natural fear of snakes, coming dangerously close to the double-digit footer reptiles.
Burmese pythons aren’t venomous, but they definitely don’t want to go home with people, and their bite packs a punch.
“She was definitely smelling it, and she went right up to it. What a good girl. What a good girl! Who says a blind dog can’t hunt, son?” said Kimmel.
He said the dog’s blindness is a benefit.
“About as easy as it gets right there. Hell, yeah Helen; that’s what were talking about. Another notch on her belt, son,” said Kimmel.
He said Helen Killer is a one-in-a-million companion.
“It’s hard to find that dog that has that drive, has that in them, to want to find a snake for you,” said Kimmel. “I’ve been very lucky with Auto and a few other of my dogs. But I’ve gone through a pile of dogs that just didn’t make the cut.”
He thinks Florida should utilize canines to help control the population of pythons in the Everglades.
“I’d like to see the state get more behind some kind of dedicated dog program with real dog handlers, get a team of people out here hunting it, and I feel like they’re not utilizing the dogs like they need to be,” he said.
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