A Florida man shot an alligator four times in the head after it had latched onto his dog’s skull and was “seconds” away from killing his furry friend. The man has asked to remain unidentified.
The story begins in Deltona, northwest of Orlando, when the homeowner let Winston, a chocolate lab, out in the yard. He noticed the dog sniffing around and take interest in something. As the man also became curious about what had attracted his pet’s attention, he noticed an almost-eight-foot alligator.
It seemed that the monstrous reptile took notice of Winston just as the homeowner took notice of it, and the two both lunged for the animal – the alligator poised to attack and the homeowner poised to attempt a rescue.
The alligator won, seizing Winston by the skull and clamping down. Apparently, homeowners in Florida just walk around their homes packing, because the owner says he instantly fired four shots into the creature’s head.
“I don’t even think there was a thought,” the homeowner said. “I think it was – my heart just dropped, and I was like, ‘Okay, I have to go do something.’ So, I mean, you just spring into action and do what you have to do to save your dog. Twenty seconds later, probably would’ve had a dead dog.”
The homeowner says that despite the ferocity of the attack and the powerful jaws of the alligator, other than a good scare the dog suffered only a punctured ear.
An officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was called to the scene shortly after the shooting and assessed the area. He said he believed the alligator made his way through a broken part of a perimeter fence.
“The game warden said that most likely because it’s breeding season – leading up to the alligator breeding season – a lot of the alligators are going to be out, and they’re going to be looking for potential mates,” the homeowner restated. “They’re going to be a little more aggressive, so if you live anywhere near water, just make sure that you’re checking your yard, because something like this can happen in a split second.”
Whether it’s mating season or just Florida being Florida, there seem to be a lot of alligator stories cropping up. Just the other day, The American Tribune also covered the story of a gigantic one ripping apart a metal fence. The whole incident was caught on film in a now-viral video.
The Tribune wrote:
In a viral video, a giant alligator can be seen pulling apart a metal fence so it can crawl through it to the other side. WINK News meteorologist Matt Devitt posted the video to his Twitter account, stating, “FLORIDA GATOR VS METAL FENCE Check out this big guy bend the bars and plow right through it this week in Placida. He eventually got through according to the @WINKNews viewer who shot the video. Only in #Florida! @GatorsDaily”
Take a look for yourself:
FLORIDA GATOR VS METAL FENCE 🐊😳
Check out this big guy bend the bars and plow right through it this week in Placida. He eventually got through according to the @WINKNews viewer who shot the video. Only in #Florida! @GatorsDaily pic.twitter.com/3GCWtWhUnO— Matt Devitt (@MattDevittWINK) March 2, 2023
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