LEWISTON – An animal control officer responding to a dog complaint in downtown Lewiston on Friday stumbled across a creature of a different variety – a 3-inch black scorpion housed in an aquarium on Pierce Street.

Wendell Strout said the arachnid, more common to the deserts of the Southwest, was bought in Massachusetts and was being kept as a pet.

The scorpion was removed from the apartment and its owner cited for keeping an exotic animal as a pet.

Strout said scorpions are not common in Maine, even as pets. It was the first he’d seen in Lewiston, although a pair have been removed from homes in Auburn in recent years.

Strout was called to the Pierce Street apartment while police were investigating a family matter that involved a dog. When Strout arrived, he was told a scorpion had been found and he was asked to remove it.

The creature, known for its painful sting, did not attack Strout.

“It didn’t get a chance,” he said. “I got it into a coffee can and put the cover on pretty quick.” The scorpion was turned over to a game warden and taken to the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray.