CANTON, Mich. – A Western Michigan University student, Jessica Welch, was driving home to Canton for the holidays when she lost control of I-94 in icy conditions.
Once she realized she was okay, her focus quickly shifted to her passenger, Pina. Pina, a 2.5-year-old python, is Welch’s emotional support animal.
Pina was in the front passenger seat when several vehicles crashed.
“Her tank ended up just shattering, and when I had gotten out of the car, I noticed it was shattered; she was obviously no longer in it,” said Welch.
The search was on.
Her car was totaled, but Welch dug through every inch of it, looking for Pina.
When firefighters who responded to the crash scene heard about the missing snake, they also started looking, but they had no luck.
“It was freezing that night, and I’d go out in spurts looking for her. I was refusing to give up, but it got to a point where I just didn’t know where to look,” said Welch, who feared the worst.
What she didn’t know was that more help was on the way.
Manchester Towing tow truck driver Carli Kerns hooked up Welch’s SUV and later learned about the missing snake.
“Well, then I got to thinking this is sad; it’s her pet,” said Kerns, who is terrified of snakes.
Despite that, she made arrangements with her dad, Bill Kerns, the owner of Manchester Towing, to get the SUV into a heated garage.
Carli and fellow tow truck driver Will Shaw stayed up looking for Pina that night.
“We see so much tragedy in our line of work, not always a good thing. It was neat to see those two young people at 1 in the morning care to do that extra work,” said Bill.
The extra work paid off.
“I was about to give up, but then I saw the spare tire thing, started looking with my flashlight, and then I saw the snake, and I took off running,” said Carli.
Shaw had to remove a row of seats but was able to get Pina out.
“It was super cold, unresponsive, wanted to stay optimistic when we can,” Shaw said.
They took Pina into the office, put her on a dog bed, gave her some extra heat, and called Jessica.
By morning, they worried Pina had died, but just before Jessica arrived, one of Manchester Towing’s employees said she saw a little bit of movement.
The tow company had called a vet and sent Jessica, her dad, and Pina on their way.
“The vet looked at her and confirmed she was alive, which was the biggest relief for me; I thought that she was a goner,” Jessica said.
Pina is now resting in her tank at home. While she is more sluggish than usual, Jessica expects her to recover fully.
She is forever grateful to Manchester Towing for working to save her beloved animal.