Posted on 04/29/2005 4:22:59 AM PDT by KidGlock
Family's Dog Eaten By Alligator After Chasing Ducks To Pond
POSTED: 7:12 am EDT April 29, 2005 UPDATED: 7:16 am EDT April 29, 2005
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- An Orange County family is devastated after one of their dogs was attacked and killed by an alligator on Thursday.
R.J. Trudell opened the door of his Hunter's Creek home to feed some ducks in the yard. Gizmo, one of the Trudell's Jack Russell terriers, darted out the door and ran after the ducks, chasing them into the pond.
That's when an alligator grabbed him.
"The first thing I yelled was, 'Kathy, get a towel, because Gizmo's gonna be wet.' It didn't even come to my mind that there was even the gator there or didn't even notice him," explained Trudell.
Nuisance Control came out to the Trudell's home after the attack. They trapped the five and a half foot gator and killed it.
The alligator got dead!
Forgive me, but I have grown sick of the cat haters on FR advocating all sorts of evil treatment of cats, up to and including "cattibalism". "Cat, the other white meat" is one of their favorite lines. So...
I had no idea that gators were so particular. I mean, that they would develop a taste for a prey and only hunt that particular prey. I always thought they were keen on turtles, (large U shaped mouth to help crush the shell), and everything that got in the way was just an appetizer.
Good Story about the Dachsund, and highly believable. Those critters are tough little dogs for looking so ridiculous :)
The gator eating the dog is heart breaking enough, what if it was a child. I would be afraid to allow my kids outside unless the yard had a 6' high fence.
Have never been taken in by the Romanized yarns about living in Florida.
Have never been taken in by the Romanized yarns about living in Florida.
My post was supposed to be humor.
There is no truth whatsoever that gators, once they eat a dog, willl spend their life searching neighborhoods for more family dogs.
It was a joke.
Good one! got me.
Live Free
Because the next thing it eats might be you, or me, or the little kid who gets too close.
The guy shouldn't have been feeding the ducks.....anyone should have know that!....
..We have a 'wildlife sanctuary' of sorts, up the highway, and they have a huge alligator in their holding pond.
...We arrived at feeding time one day, and they'd just brought in road kill..(I'm serious)....
..It was heartstopping to see how quickly that gator caught and devoured the road kill.
...Alligators do what comes naturally....
..so they have to be caught if found in a residential area.
(we do have an occasional one, but it disappears as soon as it senses folks around, although one day I found it in my back yard)
A number of years ago there was some kind of British Fox hunting society that was touring the US. One of their stops was through someplace in Wyoming, can't remember exactly where.
Seems they gave a fox hunting demonstration and made some friends with the locals there. Later that night they were enjoying a few beers with the locals when the subject of Coyotes came up. The Brits, obviously not familiar with coyotes, made the boast that they and their hounds would run the coyotes to ground.
The next day some of the ranchers and the fox hunters went out to a local ranch that had had alot of coyote trouble recently.
The hounds were turned loose once the first coyote was spotted and off they went.
4 hours and 12 out of 30 dead foxhounds later, the Brits gave up.
Seems the Coyotes have a nasty little habit of "relay running" a dog until it's tired and then turning on it in a pack (One coyote will run at another member of the pack and then go to ground to hide while the other one takes off, making the pursuer think that it's the one they were after).
Some of the ranchers who witnessed this later said it was the funniest thing they had seen. They tried to warn the Brits that a Coyote was far smarter than a Fox, but the lofty Brits wouldn't hear of it.
Hmmmm... maybe they'll eat John Kerry next time he's windsurfing down there.
Well, I guess not. Professional courtesy, and all.
I guess they don't want that gator telling the other gators how good that dog tasted.
So the guy screwed up and got his dog killed and that is why the gator got killed.
...ducks are faster! :)
good point
We all know around here not to feed the wildlife, any wildlife....
..and that includes ducks, rabbits, ospreys, sandhill cranes, gators...all wildlife.
It's not doing them any favors.
The guy fed the ducks.....and ducks will come right up to your door to get fed....
..the dog got out...
..the dog chased the ducks...(doing what dogs do)...
..and the gator ate the dog...(doing what gators do)...
End of story.
Not where I live. :)
snicker. Ack. I do feel sorry for the family (and the dog) but I can't help but grin at that sentence.
Here's another tragic tail... er tale about a dog - I was much younger at the time. I was riding my bike around the neighborhood and had a small dog follow me home. It was a mutt as far as I could tell. But very very cute and playful. He looked like a stray- no collar, a little scruffy, etc. I was elated about the idea of a new pet and hurried to ask my dad if I could keep it.
At that time, my dad was working on his prized truck- a big orange beast that we would ride about in on the weekends, tearing up the terrain. Anyway, the roar of the truck engine made it difficult for my dad to hear me so I repeatedly shouted, asking him if I could keep the dog. "Dad! Dad!...". It was sometimes difficult to get his full attention when he was focused on his truck. All the while, the little dog was yapping happily and running about. Then I heard a series of noises from behind me- the blare of a car horn, brakes screeching, and some sort of ka-thump. But I didn't hear the little dog anymore.
I turned and saw a car speed down the street. My little dog was a clump in the middle of the road. The roar of the truck engine stopped and my dad looked up, ready to address my request. "What was it you were asking me, son?" I just stood in shock, gazing at the fresh road kill and muttered back, "Um... nevermind, dad".
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