Man bitten while prying open gator’s jaws to rescue his dog; gator captured

NOKOMIS, Fla. (WWSB) - A man didn’t hesitate to jump into a canal in Sarasota County on Friday to rescue his dog from an alligator.

An officer with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) tells ABC7 that around 5pm the man was inside his home on the 100 block of Margaret Drive in Nokomis, his chocolate lab outside, when he heard a commotion coming from the canal behind his home.

The man rushed outside to find his dog in the canal with an alligator. Without pausing, the man jumped into the canal and pried open the gator’s jaws to rescue his dog, pulling the dog to safety.

Both the man and the dog were injured, but FWC says their injuries are minor and both are going to be okay. The man took his dog to a veterinarian to be checked out.

A trapper headed to the scene and around 11pm Friday captured the gator, which measured nine feet and nine inches long.

A neighbor managed to snap this picture of the gator under the water in the canal on Thursday:

Copyright 2019 WWSB. All rights reserved.