A woman washing dishes in her Vancouver her home glanced down to see a scorpion staring back at her.
At first, Gail Hammond didn’t think it was real until it scurried under the fridge.
"As soon as I saw it move, I went 'Holy crap, we’ve got a live scorpion,'" said Hammond.
She caught the creepy crawly and took it to the Dewdney Animal Hospital. At first veterinarian Adrian Walton thought it was a less dangerous striped scorpion, but after consulting with other experts determined it was potentially deadly.
“Bug it and it will win the fight," said Walton. “Leave it alone, and it will leave you alone.”
The scorpion is believed to be the venomous Heteroctenus junceus usually found in the Caribbean. It’s not clear how it ended up in Hammond’s house, but she vacationed in Cuba three weeks ago.
"Somebody suggested it could be somebody's pet, and I thought, I haven't noticed any missing pet flyers," said Hammond.
Coincidentally, she is an avid fan of the rock band The Scorpions and hopes the news of her dangerous visitor will encourage the group to play another concert in Vancouver.
The real scorpion will be sent to the Victoria Bug Zoo. It’s female and pregnant.
They’ve named her Stella.
