AUBURNDALE, Fla. — Florida wildlife officials said they will euthanize an 11-foot, 3-inch alligator that killed a 100-pound pit bull in west-central Florida on Thursday.
Cynthia Robinson, of Auburndale, said she was walking her 6-year-old dog, Tank, near a lake around 7:30 a.m. when the gator snatched the animal and pulled it into a retention pond, WFLA reported.
Woman in @PolkCountyFL loses 100lb. pit bull to big alligator during morning walk around retention pond. @MyFWC #Alligator @Auburndalegov @BN9 #bn9Polk pic.twitter.com/AsfnLU34OA
— Trevor Pettiford (@TrevorPettiford) August 8, 2019
"He made my dog look like a Chihuahua and my dog is over 100 pounds," Robinson told WTVT.
Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.said a trapper captured the alligator in a retention pond 12 hours later, WFLA reported.
"It’s supposed to be a walk around. It’s supposed to not be dangerous," Robinson told the television station. “My dog didn’t even know what happened to him. He had that look like, (he was) yelping. He was like ‘Help me mama,’ but I couldn’t do nothing.
"He was so fast. He took my dog, and he was gone. Tank didn’t even stand a chance."
It took two certified trappers about 30 minutes to lure, hook and pull the alligator out of the retention pond, WFTS reported.
Pets are most vulnerable to alligator attacks early in the morning and at dusk. Wildlife officials recommend pet owners keep their dogs on leashes and out of the water, WFLA reported.
“A dog being low to the ground is going to look like prey splashing around in the water. That’s the tragic part,” Gaye Sharpe, Polk County Parks and Natural Resources division director, told the television station.
Robinson said she was devastated by the loss of her dog but was glad the alligator was removed.
"All I could do was stand there and watch my dog get eat," Robinson told Bay News 9. "And I just don't want it to happen to no one else or a kid or anything."
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