Florida strikes again. Tank, a 45kg pit bull has died after being attacked and eaten by an American alligator while out on a walk with his owner in a park in Florida.
Cynthia Robinson, the pit’s devastated owner, allowed her beloved six-year-old off the lead on the morning of Thursday August 8, while she sat on a nearby bench.
Their tranquil morning came to an abrupt end as a large alligator launched itself out of a retention pond and grabbed poor Tank in its jaws.
Cynthia, of Auburndale, Florida, told Florida News Channel 8 how she had been helpless to stop the enormous alligator from eating her dog:
My dog didn’t even know what happened, He had that look like, yelping. He was like, ‘Help me, Mama,’ but I couldn’t do nothing.
It is reported that the alligator even rose from the water a second time with Tank gripped tightly in its mouth. A Traumatised Cynthia desperately wanted to help her dog, but the size of the alligator made it impossible and a gamble with her own life.
Karen Reynolds, a neighbor and friend witnessed the event and spoke out about Cynthia’s brave attempt to save her dog:
When she reached down to pick up his leash the gator came up from under the grass grabbed tank by the snout drug him in the water.
She got in, and the gator had took Tank out further. She said he rolled Tank, Tank came back up and looked at her made a sound like a yelp, and that gator took off under the ground with him.
Karen continued:
I told her, I said ‘that dog saved your life’ cause it could’ve been her, cause no one was there but her and her dog.
I’m devastated. I loved that dog. She is devastated; she is heartbroken that was her only baby. All I could do is grab her and hug her and cry.
ABC Action News reported that two Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trappers were sent to the pond shortly after sunset. They removed an almost 4 metre alligator believed to be the one which ate Tank. The animal will reportedly now be euthanised, and its meat and skin harvested.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trappers are now working alongside the Polk County Parks and Natural Resources Division to investigate the incident.
The Polk County Parks and Natural Resources Division have stated:
We are saddened to hear about the loss of a beloved family pet.
Even after several attacks already this year, the agency have stated alligator attacks are a rare occurrence.
Watch: Huge Alligator Crushes Turtle In Florida!