Sleeping with a Night Light

I've had a doggy door for my dogs for more than 15 years now.  I didn't get it so I could be lazy about taking my dogs out but rather so they didn't have to wait for me to go out.  That said, I will admit to enjoying its convenience over the years.

Fast forward to a few years ago.  My sweet dog, Harley, got very sick.  He stopped going outside to eliminate and he wasn't eliminating inside either.  I got very concerned and started dragging (literally!) him outside to try to encourage him to do his business.  If he did do anything, I gave him a treat.  Well, that caused a bad learned behavior when he got better to where he didn't (and to this day doesn't) want to go out without me because there was/is food involved if he did/does something.  He only goes out without me if 1) it's a sudden "urgent' need to go out; 2) I'm out cold asleep or not home; or 3) I don't get up to go out with him until it reaches the "urgent" need to go out. 

That said, I will usually go out with him anyway because now I track what he's doing so I know everything is working well and I document it, in case I need it later.  Then, a few days ago, he went out without me.  I decided to follow him out so I could document what he was doing and sat on the little "stoop" at the back door like I usually do.

We have this family of frogs that visits us quite often so I wasn't alarmed when I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye.  I'm not afraid of frogs or anything but I do like knowing where they are so that I'm not startled if they move closer to me.  So I looked over to where the movement had taken place.  Only it wasn't a frog . . . it was a snake!  And not only was it "next" to me, part of it was actually UNDER me!

Unlike frogs, I AM afraid of snakes as in deathly afraid of snakes!  When I saw the snake I screamed and suddenly (although I have no memory of moving) found myself on the other side of the patio.  I stood there a moment trying to figure out what to do.  Did I go in and get a shovel or hoe and try to kill it?  Did I go get my camera to take a picture of it so I could show it to people to identify the kind of snake?  And how did I do either of those things with the snake between me and my house?

I finally decided to chance it and run in the house.  I opted for the camera, I guess because it was closer.  By the time I got back outside it was climbing between my walls.  I snapped the picture and then stupidly decided to try to coax it back out of the path it was taking into my walls by using a long tree limb.  When I touched it instead of coming back out of the wall, it scampered in more quickly.  It probably would've ended up between my walls anyway but I ensured that it did and more quickly at that.

I immediately came in and called my stepfather and emailed him the picture.  He assured me that it's a non-poisonous snake but I really don't care - I want it gone.  Thing is, I haven't seen it since it crawled between my walls.  Logic tells me that it's long gone by now but my irrational fear of snakes tells me it could show up anywhere in my house at any second.  I can't get near cabinets without checking for a snake.  I can't crawl in bed without checking under the pillows and covers first.  And, I can't sleep without a light on so that I'm not getting up in total darkness where I couldn't see the snake slithering by.

So, if you drive by my house and see a light on in the middle of the night, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm still up, it just means I'm still traumatized by my experience with a snake who may or may not still be somewhere in my house.