In Wesley Chapel, located near Tampa, Florida, a family has slowly been recovering from the shock of an alligator attack on their rescue dog in their own backyard.
A news video showed Zeus, the family’s German shepherd standing on a leash as an alligator looked over at him just beyond the fence. And it’s all about the doggy door Zeus had at his disposal that has now been covered since the scary experience.
Earlier in the week, Zeus went out of his doggy door at night after hearing what he thought was a small animal outside on the family’s lanai. The doggy door has always been at Zeus’ disposal; after all the family had a fenced in yard.
This time, however an alligator was there waiting for the dog or perhaps whoever stepped outside. Suddenly Zeus was attacked. The family ran outside and saw the two struggling in the nearby pond as the gator seemed to have had no intention of letting the dog go as it dragged him further into the water.
On Monday night, our beloved dog Zeus was sitting peacefully in the lanai with my dad when he heard a small animal in the backyard. He instinctively ran out the doggy door to investigate—but within seconds, a large alligator broke through our fence and attacked him.
Finally, the gator released Zeus, and the family called him to come to them; a family member rushed to the edge of the pond to rescue their dog.
Zeus was lucky. He survived the attack, but suffered a fractured and displaced jaw as well as multiple punctures wounds around his neck. It appeared as if the gator at one point had Zeus’ head in its jaws.
Zeus underwent emergency oral surgery. The vet had to close internal mouth lacerations, manually realign his jaw, and wire it together. He’ll now need to wear a muzzle 24/7 for 4–6 weeks, be syringe-fed a full liquid diet, and undergo another surgery in 8 weeks to remove the wires and extract several teeth for long-term comfort.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission has sent out trappers, but have yet to capture the gator.
The family has posted a GoFundme link to help with the expensive medical expenses for Zeus.
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