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Viral video shows woman accidentally pick up rattlesnake
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Imagine that youve just finished a luxurious soak in your hot tub. As you walk across the yard, you see what you think is your dogs rope toy on the ground. You reach down to pick it up, but it isn't a toy. Its a rattlesnake. - photo by Grant Olsen
CALABASAS, Calif. Imagine that youve just finished a luxurious soak in your hot tub. As you walk across the yard, you notice something on the ground. It looks like your dogs rope toy and your pet is anxious to play, so you reach down to pick up the object.

But instead of a toy, its a rattlesnake. And the whole thing is caught on video.

This very scenario recently happened to a California woman named Carla Rosso. According to a report from nbc41.com, Rosso mistook the baby rattlesnake for a toy belonging to her dog, Duchess.

Luckily for us, her home surveillance camera caught the entire incident. After realizing that the toy had fangs, Rosso fled the scene in a panic. And her high-stepping technique appeared to be quite effective at helping her get away from the venomous snake.

Los Angeles County firefighters were later summoned to Rossos home, where they killed the rattler. It was an unfortunate end to a chaotic evening, but thankfully, no one was hurt.

If you visit the Utah Division of Natural Resources website, you can find helpful tips for avoiding these kinds of unpleasant rattlesnake encounters. Due to mistakenly thinking the snake was something else, Rosso violated two of the tips listed: First, remain calm. Second, stay at least 5 feet from the snake.