Posted on 06/20/2022 7:58:17 AM PDT by Red Badger
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (TND) — In what must have been a terrible surprise, a north Florida man reportedly says a monstrous alligator exploded out of the water and devoured his beloved pet while they were playing fetch.
Josh Wells tells the Tallahassee Democrat he was with his 40-pound black Labrador Retriever mix, named "Toby," on a nature trail in early June when the attack happened.
Toby was reportedly standing in shallow water near the trail when he was grabbed, head first, by the gator. Wells says he and Toby were playing fetch with a tennis ball at the time.
Boom, the water just sort of exploded," Wells says to the newspaper. "He never barked. He never saw it... It took him down like it was nothing.
Wells only stopped himself from chasing down and grabbing the gator after seeing how large it was, he reportedly recounts.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) incident report reveals the gator who ate Toby was a little bit more than nine feet long, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
The area where Wells and his dog were playing is reportedly known to be a popular area where neighborhood kids play in the water.
There’s cul-de-sacs, you’re not expecting a gator to come out and eat your dog," Wells reportedly tells the newspaper. Trappers with Florida's Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) were reportedly able to locate and euthanize the gator who killed Toby and were even able to retrieve the beloved pet's remains so that Wells could bury them.
Toby's death comes just weeks after a 47-year-old man was presumably attacked and killed by an alligator while he was searching for a frisbee near water in Florida.
Alligator attacks in Florida are said to be rare by FWC, but the organization warns people should still be vigilant.
Although many Floridians have learned to coexist with alligators, the potential for conflict always exists. Serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida," says Florida Fish and Wildlife on its website. "Remember, never feed an alligator and keep your distance if you see one. Swim only in designated swimming areas during daylight hours. And keep pets on a leash and away from the water. FWC estimates there are about 1.3 million gators in Florida, and they all become more active in the spring and summer when their metabolism increases.
If anyone in Florida even encounters a "nuisance alligator," the FWC says, they can contact a hotline with their information at 866-FWC-GATOR.
Reason #27 why you should not relocate to Florida: Gators are like Terminators, they absolutely won’t stop until you are dead.
5.56mm
The bunny in Monty pythons movie was way more vicious
“I’m sure that there were more than one gator in the pit but there was one that hung out where we all swam.”
I grew up in the panhandle where we fished the ponds at night. Could see dozens if pairs of red eyes with the flashlight but that never stopped us from jumping in to cool off.
Poor dog. At least it sounds like it was lightning quick for Toby
love johnny horton...
Saw a vid posted on Nextdoor, in my sister’s neighborhood (not too far from where we live) of a gator walking, up on all four, across a subdivision street. Someone stopped to film it.
The craziest thing was watching it step up, and down, from the curb.
“and they all become more active in the spring and summer when their metabolism increases.”
Spring and summer? That’s all year in Florida.
Years ago I had a neighbor who worked on Hilton Head S.C. One day he was out jogging on his lunch hour and came across a man and his small son tossing a tennis ball into a pond for their dog to fetch. He stopped and told the guy he shouldn’t do that because there were alligators in the ponds. The guy was a real smart a$$ to him and basically told him to mind his own business, it was a tourist area and they wouldn’t allow alligators. My neighbor (Chip) kept jogging to his turn around point and when he came back there was a police car with the little boy sitting there crying. Chip stopped and asked the cop what had happened, he replied that an alligator had taken the dog. He told the cop he had warned the guy about that 30 minutes ago and was ignored, the guy heard him and shot him a look that could kill.
This Alabama boy doesn’t like the taste or texture of gator meat. Besides, it violates one of my main rules for diet: I don’t eat reptiles, including turtles, snakes, lizards and alligators.
LOL
There’s a very old relic in St. Cloud, Florida called The Serpentarium
Not a huge place, but they extract venom from rattlesnakes, cobras, etc for research …….
…the handler has been there for many years (& is missing digits on at least 2 fingers……almost died once!
Tourists are welcome, but I wouldn’t advise it nowadays
The handler has gone full blown crazed liberal….to the point folks walk out of his presentations……( he wasn’t always like this, maybe it was the snake venom)
Anyway, this place has a large watering hole behind it with a huge alligator….
…and routinely they get road kill and toss it to the gator!
That gator’s reaction is so fast!
Folks can stand up close and personal( I wouldn’t advise it)
I think their old big gator finally died!
“Raw hamburger on a stick with IED stuffed inside and detonated remotely will make the gator lose his mind.”
They don’t have a gator or croc problem in parts of Africa. They have assault hippos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMXnhiv3NqY
wy69
They climb fences too.
8^)
5.56mm
Yep me too. I memorized the sing when I was younger i liked it so much.
I’ve seen them climb chain link fences!😳
Hmmm, tell us Red why did the gator cross the road? ;-)
You beat me to it.
Must have posted right before I did!😭
My rule is I never eat anything that will eat me!
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