Rising temperatures mean that snakes are starting to come out of hibernation and explore, something Fountain Hills resident and businesswoman, Ava Arpaio, was recently reminded of the hard way.

The Times reported last week that Arpaio was the victim of a snake bite in her own home, resulting in a trip to the hospital and several days of medical attention.

According to husband and former Maricopa County Sheriff, Joe Arpaio, Ava is on the mend.

Joe said he left his home on Friday morning, April 22, and about an hour later Ava opened the door to the garage and was “bitten by a big rattlesnake” on her right leg.

“The snake snuck into my house,” Joe said. “My wife called the fire department, who I commended on TV for their quick service.”

Ava was transported to HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center and was later moved to another hospital for continued treatment. She was in intensive care for several days before being allowed to return home.

“She’s home now, she’s being treated from the house,” Joe continued. “It’s kind of sad seeing what she’s had to go through. She’s recovering, but you never know with snake bites. Let’s hope that everything turns out OK.”

Joe said he would like to thank everyone for all of the well wishes in the days that followed the snake bite.

“I want to thank all the people who supported my wife,” Joe added. “I think I had over 200,000 people who were concerned about my wife…Social media, Facebook, Twitter, letters, calls. I can go on and on, from all over the country.”

In the end, Joe said he hopes the good that can come out of this incident is a heightened awareness for snake safety.

“As a former law enforcement guy who has been tough on cruelty to animals, I will say just watch out for snakes,” Joe said. “This is their season, coming up. Be careful.”