The rattle noise was strong when I entered the garage from our laundry room with 2 dogs on my leash. I felt safe enough to walk by and bring the dogs to the car. But now what?

Yes, I felt afraid - my heart beating strongly and at the same time desperately scanning my brain for a quick solution. Nothing came up. Just drive away? NO. Just kill her? How? I have NO direct experience with rattlesnakes. Until now!

Carefully I walked around my car and back in her direction, just early enough to see her tail disappearing in a flat and long open box laying next to her. With all my courage and determination I quickly lifted that box and shook it, hoping she would slide down on the inside. Then I carried her out to the driveway. however, in the middle of the driveway she made it to climb out of that box and all I could do was dropping that box as quickly as possible.

From a safe distance I observed her coiling up once more, rattling for a few seconds and then quietly moving away.

As I slowly calmed down I saw the same scenario from her perspective: If she would bite me she would waste her venom and need to starve for weeks until she could have produced enough venom again to paralyse her small animal prey up to the size of a mouse. AND she felt at least as much afraid of me as I was of her. The rattle is the most sophisticated warning system in the world of snakes that mostly leads to a win-win situation for bigger animals and humans: "I am dangerous and don't want to waste my precious hemolytic venom on you."

My fear was guided by all the snake accident stories I heard and the movies that portray rattle snakes as aggressive and dangerous animals, far from their natural valuable role in the desert ecosystem.

BUT I also talked to a professional snake handler to be educated and better prepared for future events.

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