Dancing in the air by her legs were "little movable eyes" that were attached to a dark, 2-foot-long snake.

"I looked face to face at it," Borgerding said. "I know people in the drive-up heard me - I screamed that loud."

Borgerding also flew out of her booth and in the process injured her foot so badly that she says she has permanent nerve damage. She asked McDonald's insurance company to pay her medical bills, but the company denied her claims, she said. Now she is seeking in excess of $50,000 in a personal injury complaint that she expects to file in Dakota County next month.

Borgerding recounted the 2002 incident in an interview Monday.

She said she felt humiliated and embarrassed as she fled the booth.

"I don't even remember putting (the sandwich) down," she said. "I just remember I had a chicken sandwich."

The 2-inch-thick snake squirmed wildly in the middle of floor as customers tried to corner the creature, which then slithered back to the booth.

"There were people everywhere," Borgerding recalled. "A little boy, he had to be 5, said, 'I'll go and get it.' And his mom was saying, 'Don't go in there!' People were screaming all over the place. (The snake) was dancing up all over the place."

An elderly man warned people not to go near the snake, and he ultimately pinned the head of the slithery reptile with his cane, Borgerding said. Another customer then nabbed the snake and disposed of it.

Borgerding left about 10 minutes later.

Borgerding's attorney recently served the restaurant owners, alleging that his client injured her foot while trying to flee the snake in the Erin Lane restaurant.

Borgerding said she pushed off on her right foot to get away. She didn't fall, but twisted her body trying to escape. She said her whole body ached for a couple of days, and she had shooting pain in her foot.

Attorney Paul Gatto said Borgerding's complaint was mailed Jan. 8 to T & K Restaurant Franchise Group, which owns the McDonald's, and will be filed in Dakota County District Court in February. The complaint also names McDonald's Restaurants, although Gatto said he hasn't served the corporation yet.

The suit seeks in excess of $50,000, standard language in such suits, but Gatto said the actual value of the claim might be much less.

Kay Butler, who owns the McDonald's along with her husband, Thomas, had no comment Monday. Fred Keller, a McDonald's spokesman, said he didn't know if a snake was in the restaurant that day, but it is investigating.

"We don't feel that this (snake) could have come from our restaurant; in fact, we think it's highly unlikely. We work hard to have a safe restaurant. We caution in drawing a conclusion," Keller said. "We just feel this could have been an unfortunate practical joke. I know the cleanliness practice of the restaurants. I ask myself, 'How could this happen? Maybe somebody brought it in?' It could have been a fake plastic one."

Borgerding's account matches a report by Eagan animal control officer Kathleen Gilbertson. Three employees told Gilbertson that a man pinned the snake with his cane and another man took it outside. Employees gave various descriptions of the reptile, saying it was between 18 inches and 2 feet long and was brown, black or green with black stripes.

Borgerding said no McDonald's employees came to her aid that day, and messages she left for the owner were not returned.

"We didn't do anything right away because we didn't know what to do," former McDonald's employee Neil Urbanski said on Monday. "Because we didn't know what type (of snake) it was, we didn't want to touch it. The lady got mad at us because we weren't helping her. No, she wasn't hurt at all."

Borgerding said her right foot was bruised, and she now has intermittent shooting pain and spasms. She said she has been to many doctors, had physical therapy, wore a walking cast for a month and now wears orthotic footwear. X-rays did not show any fracture, although doctors have said she suffers from permanent nerve damage, she said.

Borgerding, a manager of a dental clinic, said she has health insurance, but she has spent up to $5,000 of her own money on medical expenses. The suit seeks money for expenses and pain.

While Borgerding said that she did not recall the snake touching her, the complaint states that it "crawled onto Plaintiff's feet and legs. Plaintiff swiftly alighted from the booth from which she was seated and injured her right foot and ankle."

State humane agent Wade Hanson, who works with the Humane Society for Companion Animals, guessed that it was a garter snake. Those snakes aren't poisonous, but a person could get salmonella from the reptile, he said.

Borgerding said she is suing because McDonald's never apologized and vows, "I will never eat at another McDonald's."  
 
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