When Milkshake was stolen from the Purple Seahorse store in Rutland, all owner Kai Heinrich wanted was to have it safely returned.
Today, just after 11 am, he got his wish.
RCMP Constable Federico Angulo escorted the banana ball python valued at $800 back to the pet store after successfully locating the missing reptile.
"It feels so good," said Kai Heinrich at the Purple Seahorse. "The community really came together to help out. The officer was fantastic."
The biggest relief is that Milkshake is okay.
"She's in awesome shape," he said. "I'm so happy right now."
Milkshake has lived in the store since she was an egg.
The snake was taken from the store on Saturday, and video surveillance indicated the three culprits were youths.
After waiting a day or two to see if the situation would sort itself out, Heinrich went public on social media, pleading for Milkshake's safe return.
He put out the call on social media but held back the surveillance video to encourage the perpetrator to do the right thing before publicly sharing the images.
"Within about nine hours we were able to get an identification on the person," said Heinrich.
Despite all of the worry caused by the abduction, he's not calling for the suspect to be dealt with harshly.
"They show a lot of remorse," said Heinrich. "We got the snake back, all is done. We're not upset."
He points out that the suspects are very young.
"We've all grown up, we've made mistakes."
He maintains that taking a live animal is a serious thing, but he's happy to let the RCMP decide how best to handle it.
"No criminal charges will be pursued," said the Kelowna RCMP.
“One of the things the owner wanted to ensure is if the youth were remorseful,” commented Cst. Angulo. “In my dealings with the youth, I could confirm they were indeed remorseful for their actions and did regret causing the incident.”
Heinrich looks forward to speaking with the girl who was in possession of the snake when it was recovered.
He doesn't rule out the idea of having her volunteer at the store where Milkshake was hatched in September.
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