ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — With triple-digit temperatures returning to Southern Arizona, so is the risk of rattlesnake encounters—even just steps from your front door.
Cathy Robinson, a Rancho Vistoso resident, was pushing her trash can to the curb one evening when she felt a sudden, searing pain in her foot.
“I might have even stepped on him,” Robinson said. “But it hurt badly and I thought, ‘What is that?’ If it’s a snake I should try and identify it—and sure enough.”
She says the snake was coiled up underneath the trash can. The bite sent her to the ICU, where she spent three days receiving antivenom and treatment for what she describes as being more painful than childbirth.
“Inside your foot is like totally on fire—like a hot fire burning all through your foot,” she said. “And on the outside, somebody pours acid onto your skin.”
Weeks later, Robinson is still recovering and relearning how to walk—but she’s in good spirits and determined to share a message of awareness.
“In no way do I want my experience to result in people wanting to kill rattlesnakes,” she said. “I do not at all condone killing of rattlesnakes.”
Biologist Alexander Grant with the Coronado National Forest says snakes are often misunderstood. He explained that rattlesnakes do not view humans as prey, but rather threats.
“They visualize off of pig glands,” Grant said. “So what they’re seeing is heat signature and movement.”
If you spot a rattlesnake on your property, experts advise against approaching or attempting to remove it yourself. In Oro Valley, residents can dial 3-1-1 to request professional and humane removal.
Robinson hopes her experience serves as a reminder to stay alert—but not afraid—while living alongside wildlife in the Sonoran Desert.
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Kenny Darr is a reporter for KGUN 9. He joined the team in January 2023. Before arriving in Arizona he was an Anchor and Reporter at KADN in Lafayette, LA. Share your story ideas with Kenny by emailing kenny.darr@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
