LAKE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) -
A Lake County grandfather and his dog are recovering after an encounter with a 7 foot alligator. "I looked down and the gator is taking off with her in his mouth, with Bounce in his mouth," Gustafson said.
66-year-old Gustafson said he came to the rescue of his 13 lbs. West Highland Terrier named Bounce when she was dangling from the jaws of the alligator last Friday.
"And I got a hold of her back left foot, with my left hand, and I got my arm around the gators tail and we were all under water," Gustafson said.
Gustafson said he didn't think twice about running across the backyard of his Villages home, before jumping into the Lake and using every last ounce of his energy to battle the gator and save little Bounce. "I grabbed his mouth and then I shoved his mouth down against the bottom of the pond, and I had his back leg in my left hand, and now I had a gator a 7 foot gator," Gustafson said.
He then let go of the gator and ran for dear life with his dog in his hands. Gustafson suffered a few puncture wounds on his hand, and bruises on his thigh but other than that he's okay and so is his furry best friend Bounce, who was only left with a few stitches from the scuffle.
The grandfather says he'd do it again in a heartbeat all for his precious pup, and plans on keeping a closer eye on his dog when she's in the backyard from now on. As for the alligator, it was eventually trapped on Sunday.
