Mike McCoy was walking his eight-month-old chocolate lab, Jake, near a pond in Holiday, Florida, when the gator, estimated to be 8 feet long, jumped out of the water and grabbed his puppy, pulling him under.
Mike says Jake was “in a death roll with that old gator,” Mike jumped into the water for the fight of his life. “I thumbed him in the eye, picked him out of the water so he couldn’t get anywhere and shook him until he let the dog go. I guess he figured 'fine' if I can't have him I'll have you and he took a chunk out of my hand".
Once Jake had made it back on shore Mike threw the gator as far as he could and ran after his dog.
Both Jake and his owner needed stitches from the gator bites, but were lucky not to have any other injuries. The gator is estimated to be between seven and nine feet long, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, and they’re working with a trapper to remove it from the pond.
When WFTS-TV Tampa asked Mike if he had thought twice about jumping into a fight with the gator he said "none. Pets have their trust in you like a child. You have to keep them safe. I was so mad at that gator he's lucky I didn't snap him in half"!