PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) - A dog caught in the jaws of an alligator is alive thanks to a woman who was nearby to make a stunning save.
Wednesday afternoon, in the backyard of a home in Plantation, a pet owner’s worst nightmare became a reality.
The home, located near Southwest 126th Avenue, has a canal in the backyard where alligators infest the waters.
Stephany Pineda said she heard her mother screaming. When she ran outside, she saw the dog’s head inside of an alligator’s mouth.
Video and photos show the aftermath of what Gloria, the dog, had endured. The gator had left gashes in her head.
Pineda ran outside and jumped into action, risking her own life in order to pull the gator away from Gloria, and get her out of its mouth.
“I was screaming so loud that he let go of the dog,” said Pineda.
In the process, she also saved her other dog, who was inches away from the gator as well.
Trappers were called and quickly arrived to the residence to catch the gator. They used a machine that mimics the sound of a dog barking in order to lure the gator. It was then taken to a wildlife sanctuary.
“I was just like grabbing her, and I thought the head was, you know…” said Pineda. “I came screaming, she’s dead, she’s done, she’s eating her.”
“All I heard from her was, ‘The gator, the baby, the dog,'” said Will Ubario, Pineda’s husband, “so I freaked out, and when I got here she told me, ‘I saved the dog. I took the dog out of the gator’s mouth.’ Not only did she do that, but I have two Frenchies, and the other one had gotten out underneath the fence, barking at the alligator. She grabbed and went outside of the fence to grab the other dog.”
7News was told a second alligator remains in the canal, and trappers said they are coming Friday evening to catch that one.
“They got the gator Wednesday and there’s another one today,” said Ubario, “so it’s going to be a neverending issue that us Floridians are going to have to deal with.”
Gloria is said to be doing OK, but Pineda said, though her puncture wounds may be healing, she’s still scarred.
“Every night I keep having flashbacks thinking I could’ve fallen, but I’m just afraid, but I understand that this is their home as well,” she said.
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