Gary Murphy, 72, told TCPalm.com he isn't a hero. "I just wanted my dog back."
Murphy was working on a boat Thursday when he saw his 11-year-old West Highland White Terrier in the jaws of an alligator. He immediately jumped on the gator's back and hit it on the head until it released the dog.
"It was like landing on a pile of rocks," he said about jumping on the alligator. "If your kid was in the water with its head in a gator's mouth, what would you do?"
When the alligator released the dog, Murphy scooped it up and ran inside his home. He took the dog to an animal hospital the next day, where it was treated for a compressed lung and cuts and puncture wounds to its back and stomach.
Murphy said his healthy lifestyle and having a background in construction gave him the strength to rescue his dog.
Murphy said his wife, who was out of town when the incident happened, asked him a single question.
"Are you nuts?" she asked.
I hope doggy survive...
Kudo for the man saving a companion...
if i were him, i would have dig my fingers into that gators's eyes. One girl surfer suvived a shark's attack just by doing that.
I admired his courage.
if last time my little white male hamster kena
I will do that too
that hamster like my own baby
Salutations to the good of mankind revealed in instincts of love.