EUGENE, Ore. - Teresa Rossiter said she never imagined her life as a pet store owner could be dangerous until she was caught off-guard at her own store.

At Best Friends pet shop on Thursday, Rossier found her Burmese python Darla at the center of the customers' attention.

"We were talking about the snakes and I said 'Yeah, she's really a nice girl. My cousin says she's evil, but she's not,'" she said.

But, it turned out, Rossiter may have spoken too soon.

"And I went to reach into the cage to grab her head, and she grabbed first," said Rossiter.

She said the Burmese python picked up the scent of mice on her skin and went into a feeding frenzy, prompting a bystander to call 911.

Sgt. Ryan Nelson said he couldn't believe what he heard at frist.

"I overheard a call getting dispatched and I thought I heard it correctly, but I wasn't quite sure," he said. "It said that a female employee...well, a snake had half of her arm in its mouth."

When he arrived at the store, Nelson couldn't believe what he saw either.

"I went inside the door pretty quickly and when I came in, I didn't quite know what to expect, but I saw a lady laying on the floor," said Nelson.

The hungry python had begun wrapping itself around Rossiter.

"I dropped down on a knee, opened the blade of a knife and she immediately asked me what I was going to be doing, and I told her that I was going to kill the snake."

Even with half of her arm down the python's throat Rossiter, an animal lover, didn't like that idea.

"We built this wonderful habitat for her and I was like, 'No you can't kill her! Her room's not ready yet!'" said Rossiter.

So Nelson turned to plan B. He grabbed a screwdriver and pried open Darla's mouth, breaking off two of her teeth inside his thumb and freeing Rossiter's arm from the snake's determined grip.

"He was just so brave, and he saved my finger," Rossiter said.

Jammed up in the snake's strong grip, Rossiter's finger had begun to tear at the knuckles.

Once she had let go of Rossiter's arm, Darla tried to slither away. But Nelson wasn't about to let the snake whose life he had spared get away. He grabbed the

"The snake wanted one last shot. I think, and struck at the door, and I slammed it on its face as it struck," said Nelson.

Even though she nearly lost a finger, Rossiter said her love for Darla remains unchanged, and wouldn't dare think of giving her away. She said she'll just have to remember to be a little more careful when opening Darla's cage from now on.