A 9-year-old boy was hanging out in the backyard of his grandmother's house in Florida Wednesday, when he came face-to-face with one of the most venomous snakes in the world.
Angelo Owens encountered a four-foot diamondback rattlesnake.
"Scary, it had me shaking for a while," Alex Owens, Angelo's father, told WESH about the encounter.
"I thought it was a stuffed animal," Angelo said.
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When he realized it was a snake, the boy told his family. Everyone thought the snake to be harmless until they heard the spinetingling hiss.
"It was just a real loud hiss. You could hear it two to three houses away," Alex said.
Central Florida's renowned critter catcher, Bob Cross, managed to wrangle up the rattlesnake.
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From coyotes to foxes to even bears, the Owens family told WESH they have seen other animals prior to the snake encounter.
"He's a lucky boy," Alex said. "If he had tried to pick it up or get near it, this would be a different story."
According to WESH, the snake has since been taken to a reptile center that will collect its venom to make antivenin that saves lives.
