Florida man saves puppy from jaws of alligator
A man in Florida rescued his puppy from the jaws of an alligator, diving under the water and wrestling the reptile all without dropping the cigar in his mouth.
Don't mess with Gunner and Richard Wilbanks.
The Florida puppy who was rescued from the jaws of an alligator by his fearless owner has been named a Deputy Dog by the local sheriff's office.
Gunner the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and his proud owner accepted the award from the Lee County Sheriff's Office this week, as Sheriff Carmine Marceno praised the pup’s “tenacity” as deserving of the honor.
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“Do you swear to uphold the constitutional law for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Gunner?” Marceno asked the 4-month-old pup, in a cute clip shared to Facebook. Sworn in for duty, Gunner looked ready for action with a police patch on his harness.
“OK, this is a big day. You’re going to be a detective now,” Marceno said.
When asked to describe the heroic rescue from the hungry gator, Wilbanks said he “wasn’t letting him have my puppy for breakfast.”
The Estero man went viral when footage from the Florida Wildlife Federation hit the Internet, showing the 74-year-old prying his pet from the jaws of the beast on the banks of a pond – without dropping his cigar.
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"We were just out for a Sunday morning stroll, and walking by the edge of the pond," Wilbanks told Fox News. "All of a sudden an alligator came out from under the water and grabbed hold of Gunner and was heading back in the water and swimming off with him."
"I just jumped in and got hold of the alligator and drug him up, drug him up to the bank and got Gunner out."
Following the incident, Wilbanks got a tetanus shot to be safe, and Gunner is on the mend from a puncture wound.
Now, the honorary police pup will help serve as a community lookout for suspicious activity on future walks in the neighborhood, according to Lee County’s Deputy Dogs page.