'Gator gotta go': Alligator that swallows dog and cat in space of an hour is removed from Cape Coral canal
CAPE CORAL, FLORIDA: A resident of Cape Coral has reported an alligator who ate a dog and a cat on the same day on Wednesday, Sept 14, to the local authorities. The incident took place along the NE 18th Place Canal in the morning, when a resident from the area heard a dog cry and then a few splashes. All this noise got his attention and he, accompanied by his wife, walked into their backyard and onto the dock, spotting the gator.
Alex Phillips, the resident said, “We got up, came out, and looked and it was an alligator with a dog in its mouth.” “It was a white and black dog, we definitely have a white and black dog,” Alex's wife Taya Payne told NBC2.
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It turned out that it wasn’t one of their four dogs. However, they noticed in the hours since they saw the dead dog in the gator's mouth, it had been quieter than usual along the canal. While they were relieved that it wasn’t one of their four dogs, the couple realized that the gator had eaten the dog they had seen hanging around the canal earlier. On being asked if they know anyone’s dog has gone missing recently, Alex said, “Yeah, I think so. Somebody’s dog is missing.”
Philips then revealed what followed right after the dog was eaten. “We were sitting in the lanai and we heard another splash. So we jump up and come out and look. The gator is now wrestling with a cat.” It had been just an hour after they heard the first disturbance and splash. About the cat, Payne said that they had seen it roaming around the empty lots around their house, and it ended up being a tasty appetizer for the gator. In the video footage, the ravenous alligator was seen slowly moving back into the storm drain off the canal.
The couple said, “Gator gotta go” and soon the Florida Fish and Wildlife trappers reached their home. With the help of their specialized tools, they were able to capture the huge gator. One of the trappers said, “This gator’s been fed.” The other added, “You see how this part here is narrow. You see how it bulges in? That’s all fat, that’s all from being fed.” When asked whether they think the gator could have actually eaten the dog, the trapper replied, “Absolutely.” Payne concluded by saying, ‘For it to be coming after dogs and animals, what’s stopping it from coming after us.”