A pet tarantula was stranded on top of a house in San Mateo, California the call into the Peninsula Humane Society reported.
Having been notified of this urgent case, an animal control officer rushed over to the scene wielding a plastic enclosure.
The officer scaled the house using a ladder and made her way over to the abandoned spider while the caller and two of the homeowners waited below. After a closer look, she realized it – the tarantula was just a forgotten Halloween decoration, according to SFGATE.
"She said it looked like it had been up there for a while," said Buffy Tarbox, the Peninsula Humane Society's communications manager. "I guess if you don’t like spiders, that's the better outcome."
The spider was removed from the roof regardless. When the spectators below were told the truth, they couldn’t help but laugh, said Tarbox.
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"The homeowners didn't know the decoration was there," she added. "Everyone thought it was real."
But it's actually not that unusual for this to happen to the real thing, according to Tarbox. Tarantulas aren't typical pets, but they are available for adoption at the humane society.
Wild tarantulas are also frequently spotted in the Bay Area during this time of year, which is their mating season.
The homeowners didn't want to keep the plastic tarantula, so the animal control officer brought it back with her to the humane society's office in Burlingame, where it became an inside joke amongst the staff.
"It became this funny thing where they were placing it on various people's desks," said Tarbox. "That joke wore a little thin. It was put into the trash."
Even though the tarantula was found some time over the last month, and the joke is over, she hopes it provides an important example of what the humane society’s mission is. "We will assist any animal that needs our help," she said. "We're not going to turn our back on a dog, or even a hairy tarantula."
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