A Florida couple was told to pay US$1,300 (NT$40,900) after their four-meter-long pet python strangled Max, their neighbors' rat terrier.
But the court's award was little consolation for Max's owners, Wayne Vassello, 32, and Shana Lane, 25, who said Max was family to them.
"I keep a picture of him in my wallet," Vassello testified in court in West Palm Beach, Florida.
PHOTO: EPA
"We don't have kids," he said, his voice cracking. "That was our child. We celebrated birthdays and holidays."
Vassello and Lane would set a place for Max at the Thanksgiving dinner table, and the beloved pooch was to carry their wedding rings up the aisle at their wedding next year, the couple said.
The court heard how Vassello unleashed three-year-old Max near the front door of his apartment building, when the huge reptile, named Diamond, suddenly emerged and grabbed the small dog.
Vassello ran to his car, grabbed a golf club and began hitting the snake. The snake released the dog, but Max ran away in a panic. He was found dead the next day.
Vassello and Lane have since left the apartment complex and bought a new rat terrier. But neighbor John Corkan, who owns the snake, insisted he had no reason to get rid of her. "She just does her own thing ... She's never made an attempt to bite or squeeze a person," he said. "She's a very friendly snake, actually," added Corkan's daughter, Aundi. (AFP)
佛羅里達一對夫婦被判賠償一千三百美元（新台幣四萬零九百元），因為他們四公尺長的寵物蟒蛇勒斃鄰居的捕鼠犬「麥克斯」。
麥克斯的主人是今年三十二歲的韋恩•法瑟羅和二十五歲的莎娜•蓮恩，法庭的判決對他們沒有多大的安慰作用，因為他們視麥克斯如家人一般。
法瑟羅在佛羅里達西棕櫚灘的法庭上作證時說：「我都把牠的照片放在皮夾裡。」
他聲音哽咽地表示：「我們沒有小孩，所以視牠如己出，每逢生日或假日我們都會慶祝。」
法瑟羅和蓮恩說，他們會在感恩節的晚餐桌上留位置給麥克斯，而且原本預定要讓他們心愛的混種狗在明年的婚禮上，帶著他們的結婚戒指走上紅毯。
法瑟羅在法庭上陳述，他在公寓前門附近解開三歲大的麥克斯，就在這時巨蟒「金剛鑽」冒了出來抓住牠。
法瑟羅跑向自己的車，拿了一根高爾夫球桿就往蛇身上猛打，蛇放開了麥克斯，不過麥克斯倉皇逃走，隔天就被人發現死亡。
法瑟羅和蓮恩從此搬離那個住宅區，並且買了一隻新捕鼠犬。蛇主人是法瑟羅的鄰居約翰•寇肯，他堅持沒有必要棄養這條蛇，並且表示：「她就是這樣，但是她從來不曾試圖咬人或勒人。」寇肯的女兒翁蒂補充：「她其實是一隻非常友善的蛇。」 （法新社／翻譯：鄭湘儀）
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