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NY Woman Lives in Fear After Potpourri Bag Released Live Snake into Her Apartment, She Claims

By Makini Brice | Update Date: Apr 03, 2013 01:43 PM EDT

A New York woman is on the hunt after discovering that she may have had a snake lurking in a bag of potpourri.

According to NBC New York, Natalie Malik recently bought a bag of potpourri from her local HomeGoods store for the first and last time. On Saturday, she poured the bowl into a bowl, thinking that it would be a fresh addition to her home. However, she received more than she bargained for later that night.

While sleeping in the adjoining room with her two teacup Pomeranians, the trio were startled by the noise of something falling.

When Ms. Malik emerged from her room to investigate the situation, she found two pieces of potpourri lying on the floor.

Further investigation led to the find of a nine-inch snakeskin sitting in the bowl of potpourri. She described the skin as moist and warm, as if it had only recently been shed before her discovery. Her suspicions that the snake had emerged from the potpourri were somewhat confirmed when she took the snakeskin to a nearby reptile shop, according to CBS New York. There, the workers informed her that the skin indeed belonged to a snake, though they were unable to determine what snake to which the skin belonged.

So far, Malik has not seen the snake, but that has not quieted her fears. Since the discovery, Ms. Malik has been unable to sleep more than four house a night. She worries about her safety and that of her two small dogs. She does not know whether the snake is poisonous or harmless.

In order to catch the snake, Malik has set out a trap using crickets. However, it would seem that she has had no luck drawing in the snake, though she has nets on hand and persistently checks the baseboards.

The workers at the reptile shop informed the apartment dweller that snakes enjoy warm places, so she should check her radiator. It is not clear whether Ms. Malik followed that advice.

HomeGoods says that it is looking into the matter. However, parent company TJX Companies said in a statement to CBS, "Our vendor has assured us that the manufacturing process for this product makes it highly unlikely for this to occur."

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