A South Carolina woman woke up to find a snake behind her toilet.

The snake was not his pet. She had never seen this reptile in her life. She didn’t know where it came from, what type of snake it was or even how it got into her house. So it was that around 5 a.m. on Tuesday, November 5, the woman’s apartment complex heard a loud scream for help, according to a local publication. The State.

The Columbia resident first called her friend, and together they decided the best course of action was to contact law enforcement. Deputy Shannon Huffman, who responded to the call and had experience with many animals, “knew exactly what to do,” the sheriff’s department said.

“It was definitely a one-time call for service for us,” assistant teacher Alexandra Salrin said. The State.

Although the police are often contacted regarding animal-related issues, situations involving such exotic animals are rare. Yet law enforcement is trained to deal with a wide range of circumstances.

The snake was indeed “argued” in a pillowcase. Neither the snake nor the woman were harmed, and the only damage was flooding in the bathroom – although it is not clear how the snake caused it .

“We were able to provide a solution quickly to the resident and save the snake’s life,” Salrin said.

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The snake was believed to be someone’s pet due to its size, law enforcement said, although no specific information about its length was released. No one has yet attempted to recover the snake. Police still don’t know how the snake got into the woman’s apartment.

One of the Sheriff’s Department’s operations deputies took the snake in while he helps it find a forever home.