Dog eaten in its kennel by a python - PHOTO

Amazingly, the wildlife-lover had only chained her Chihuahua-Maltese cross overnight to stop it disturbing native animals near her Caniaba home in northern NSW, but it meant there was no escaping the 2.5-metre python that slithered into the kennel.When the woman went outside to let the dog off its chain the following morning, she discovered the bloated snake curled up inside the kennel. The end of the chain was protruding from its mouth.   Things got worse for the shocked pet owner when she realised the chain that had been keeping her dog in its kennel was now ensuring the giant snake couldn’t get away either.Distraught, the woman called the Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES), and a team of volunteers was dispatched to the home. WIRES volunteer Sue Ulyatt said the dog's owner didn't blame the snake, and reacted exactly the right way way when she found the 2.5-metre python. 'She’d actually done the right thing by chaining up her dog, because she lives in an area with wildlife', Mrs Ulyatt told the Daily Mercury.'She went out in the morning to let the dog off the chain, but instead of the dog being there it was this large python.'She called WIRES for help because the dog was now, you know, attached to the chain. (She was) obviously very upset by the whole situation.'Mrs Ulyatt said the snake had been transported to a local wildlife hospital, where it might have to undergo surgery to remove not just the chain, but the remains of the dog.'The chain was cut and the snake was kept by one of our reptile carers overnight,' she said.'(we were) hoping it might regurgitate the whole thing, as in the chain and the dog, but that didn’t happen. So first thing this morning it was transported to the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital where it will be monitored for 24 hours.'If it doesn’t regurgitate the whole thing, then it will go into surgery and the chain will be removed.'Mrs Ulyatt said the snake, which was estimated to be more than 50 years old, should survive the surgery and eventually be released back into the local area. But animal lovers shouldn't worry, she says, as it is highly unlikely that any other dogs would be taken.'We’ve just checked our stats and it’s actually only the second time in the last ten years that we know of,' she said.'It’s usually the other way around; the snake comes of second best. But in this case, because the dog was chained up, it couldn’t get away. It was also a very small dog.'(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az