Posted on 11/07/2010 10:37:41 AM PST by nickcarraway
A Florida man shot at an alligator to free his dog from its jaws. Tom Martino said he and his Jack Russell terrier Lizabeth were walking along the Hillsborough River in Tampa when the alligator wrestled the 15-pound dog into the water.
Martino started shooting into the water around the alligator to scare it into releasing the 9-year-old dog. He performed CPR on the dog until it coughed up water and started breathing again.
Lizabeth was being treated for alligator bites and lung injuries from being underwater.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trapper captured the 5- to 6-foot alligator Thursday night.
Martino has a concealed weapons permit.
Picture used for illustrative purposes only.
Probably it was a good thing it wasn’t his wife.
Brave man and a lucky dog.
Good Master - Woof
Hereinafter to be known as his Jack Russell terrier Lizard Breath
What I am about to tell you is a true story. A cardinal(bird) flew into a large window of our house and fell to the ground as if dead. I have 3 daughters who witnessed this and they were yound...ages 5 to 11. They were crying to see the suffering of the little bird. They asked me to do something....soooooooo....I gave the bird mouth-to-beak CPR. This continued for about 4-5 minutes as my little girls were crying and distressed. I pronounced him dead 4 minutes after CPR began. I thought about cracking his crest but I didn’t have the surgical instruments.
One more good reason to be a proud gun owner.
So, where's the gator now? Hope it wasn't a catch and release program. Lizabeth should now be dining on gator stew, fried gator, gator shish kabobs, grilled gator steaks, and a few gator jerky treats as pay back.
So glad you Identified the cardinal as a bird!
Wonder if this guy took the same dog first aid class I did.
They usually turn these gators into wallets once they make an attack. Once they associate people and food they become a problem.
A good dog owner will not take a small dog close to any body of fresh water in this area.
I’d do that for my dog. Unhesitatingly. Most of us would. My only concern would be if I was doing it correctly to help the dog.
You mean they haven’t arrested that man yet?
I remember the story of a man who wanted to shoot a gator that got into his yard where his two year old daughter was playing. They told him that if he shot the gator the police would charge him for shooting a protected animal.
Only in Florida.
Personally, I'd take my chances with a jury.
Wow, God bless you, Tex, but have you heard of West Nile Virus and Avian Influenza?
Jesus, man... the latter is extremely lethal. More than half of the people who contract it die. I don’t know if there have been any cases of it in the US, but not many people go around putting the beaks of dead or dying birds in their mouths! There have, however, been many cases of West Nile Virus in the US.
Please, go the the CDC website and read up on these diseases and watch yourself closely for symptoms. Or go to your doctor and tell him you made a mistake and have him monitor you for symptoms.
And for God’s sake, tell your children that you made a big mistake and that they should never do what you did.
Best of luck to you.
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