Man Jumps Into Deep Pond To Rescue His Pup From Alligator

A man in Florida was captured on video, jumping into a deep pond in order to rescue his pup named, Gunner, from an alligator’s underwater grasp.

When the man’s arm emerged from the water, he is seen unlatching his three-month-old puppy, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, from the predator’s mouth. It took approximately 12 seconds for the man to finally free Gunner, who was heard yelping and grunting loudly during the process. After finally being set free, the pup was seen scampering away from the pond.

The video footage was shared by the Florida Wildlife Federation and the Stop Foundation whose ‘Sharing the Landscape’ project enlisted the cooperation of homeowners who live in areas near wild habitat. These residents, including the rescuer, Richard Willbanks, have agreed to cooperate in the project by allowing the foundation’s cameras to be installed in their backyards so that it can take video footages of wildlife that are co-habiting and sharing territories with humans.

These collected footages will be used to educate others especially with the encroachment of residential development in wildlife territories. According to the foundation, they were unaware about the incident until their memory cards were put together weeks ago. Willbanks, who was given a tetanus shot for his injured hand, said he was surprised how quickly the alligator dragged Gunner underwater.

Both Willbanks and Gunner have received proper medical treatment, the latter being reported as already recovered from a puncture wound.

Feature Image Source: video