Dog famous for tracking pythons in Florida dies in hunting accident, owner says

Miami Herald

2 days ago

A dog famous for going nose to nose with Florida's invasive pythons and iguanas has died in a hunting accident, according to his owner Mike Kimmel, a professional tracker known as The Python Cowboy on social media.
Otto was fatally struck by a car July 5 while chasing an iguana, a company spokesman told McClatchy News in an email.
'It just doesn't seem real,' Kimmel said in a video posted July 10 on social media.
'It's crazy. It's so much different than losing, like, a human loved one or something like that. ... It seems like it hurts worse. I think maybe because I feel responsible for him and everything that happens with him. It's hard not to blame ourselves and think of all the stuff we should have done different.'
Otto was working with a member of Kimmel's hunting team when the accident occurred. A location was not provided.
The dog, a German Wirehaired Pointer, was a key part of Kimmel's guided hunts for five years and considered the star of dramatic Everglades hunting videos shared on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
Collectively, Python Cowboy Hunts has more than 1.8 million followers across social media.
The videos often featured Otto fearlessly dodging the jaws of pythons and dramatically leaping off moving boats in pursuit of iguanas.
'Otto was so much more than just a dog to us. I feel blessed to have known and owned a dog as special as Otto,' Kimmel says in the video.
'He was a co-worker, best friend, business partner, my right hand and backup plan. Some of the situations me and him have been through would turn strangers into brothers. We spent so much time together, I feel like we started to act and even look like each other.'
Kimmel's tribute had amassed 255,000 views and nearly 9,000 reactions and comments on Facebook as of July 14.
'That dog was a freaking warrior,' Tom Adams wrote.
'I loved watching his videos chasing the iguanas and the head shake when he would snatch 'em up,' Josh Dyess said.
'That dog died doing what he loved. That's going out with your boots on,' Neil Yaremchuk posted.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has targeted invasive Burmese pythons and iguanas for removal — a task Kimmel has taken on as a professional mission.
Pythons as big as 18 feet have been found in the state and their diet consists of defenseless native animals including deer and young alligators.
The snakes are slowly migrating north in the state, researchers say.