Wesley Chapel family says dog survived alligator attack in their backyard
A video shows Zeus, a German Shepherd, standing on a leash with a gator lurking just beyond the fence, a chilling moment the family now views as a warning.
'We have a doggy door, and Zeus will go in and out of it whenever he wants,' said Susan Alkhatib. 'We have it covered right now because of what happened.'
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Earlier this week, Zeus stepped outside like any other night, only this time, an alligator was waiting.
'All of a sudden, I couldn't hear him anymore,' one family member recalled. 'My dad came in frantic. I'd never seen him like that. He said, 'The alligator just took Zeus.''
Alkhatib and her family ran outside with flashlights and caught a glimpse of Zeus struggling in the pond with the gator still latched onto him.
'The alligator had just let go of Zeus,' Alkhatib said. 'We started yelling at him to come toward us. When he got closer, he got tired. So we had to kind of go into the pond a little bit to get him.'
While News Channel 8 was interviewing the family, a gator emerged from the water again before slipping back in.
'I have a 7-year-old sister,' said one family member. 'And I just think, if she was at the fence, would he have done the same thing to her?'
Zeus miraculously survived the attack. He suffered a fractured and displaced jaw, along with multiple puncture wounds around his neck.
'The vet said it looked like his whole head was in the gator's mouth,' said Alkhatib. 'Even he said, 'I don't know how he survived.''
'I honestly can't believe he is alive,' Alkhatib said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has sent out trappers, but so far, they have not been able to capture the gator.
Zeus is now recovering from several surgeries. The family has started a GoFundMe to help pay for his veterinary bills.
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