An alligator killed and ate a pet dog during a brazen daytime attack that occurred just hours after another terrifying assault by one of the reptiles nearby.
Cheryl Duffy told ABC7 that her husband Timmy went out to exercise their three-year-old Labrador-Greyhound called Abby in the Westwinds community.
She said: "I went to the store and the old man [took] the dog on a walk."
The disabled military veteran uses a mobility scooter to walk the dog and as the pair approached their home on Lime Key Lane at the end of the walk, tragedy struck.
Cheryl said: "He unleashed the dog and the dog ran near the canal. I guess a gator grabbed her.
"He heard the dog yelp one time and that's all he heard."
Hearing the distressing sounds, the owner of the unfortunate pet attempted to leave his mobility scooter to investigate closer, but he fell and damaged his leg in the process.
He only discovered the gruesome fate of his dog later, while he was being treated in hospital.
His wife said: "They let him know there is a gator with a dog in its mouth.
"The dog's leg was hanging out of the gator's mouth, I was told."
Cheryl, described as a lifelong Florida resident, added that she was distressed about the nature of the death of the animal they had rescued as a puppy.
Alligator-Infested Area
She also said the dangers of living so close to alligator-infested water may have be exacerbated by recent heavy rains.
She said: "Well, I am not going to go by the edge [of the canal]."
While alligator hunters' attempts to track the animal responsible for the dog attack were unsuccessful, the search was more fruitful for the culprit of another attack.
A 74-year-old woman was attacked by an alligator while gardening at her home in Verona Walk, Collier County, also on Thursday, September 23.
The woman, named as Jane by neighbors, was reportedly bitten on her leg before she managed to fight off the reptile with a shovel.
According to the 911 call, the alligator initially pulled Jane into the water.
Surprise Attack
Neighbor Mary Randall told Wink News: "She was tending her plants and those gators thought she was something else.
"She said it was a blur and it just came out of nowhere."
The Greater Naples Fire Rescue District confirmed that both attacks took place to Newsweek.
Alligator attacks are unfortunately very common in some southeastern U.S. states, and serious incidents involving the animals occur quite often.
In late August, a woman was forced to scramble to her dog's rescue after an alligator attacked her pet while wading through water.
