Florida woman jumps on over 6-foot alligator to rescue her dog during terrifying lake walk | Trending

A woman in Florida put her life on the line to save her beloved pet from a terrifying alligator attack during a routine evening walk. Kimberly Spencer, a Tampa resident and elementary school teacher, was walking her dog, Kona, near a pond in the Westwood Lakes neighbourhood when a 6-and-a-half-foot alligator suddenly lunged at them from the water, FOX 13 reported.

“I am always afraid of gators, snakes, you name it. I’m not a nature girl,” Kimberly said. But on Tuesday, those fears were quickly cast aside when she realized her dog’s life was in danger. “We went down. I didn’t see anything to be worried about,” she recalled. “All of a sudden, I heard a noise, and ten feet in, you could see. I saw its eyes, and I saw it turn.”

The alligator came charging. Despite Kimberly’s attempt to pull Kona away, the reptile was too fast. It clamped its jaws around the dog’s head and upper body. “It had its mouth open … it clamped down on her and it got her … so I jumped on its back and pried its jaws open,” she said. “Once I got it out, I clamped its mouth shut and was holding onto its jaws, its mouth shut.”

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Heroic rescue

Kimberly’s incredible courage and quick thinking helped her free Kona from the gator’s grip. The animal eventually retreated into the water, leaving both Kimberly and Kona shaken but alive.

“I wasn’t letting it take my baby, that’s it,” Kimberly said. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to her on my watch.”

While Kimberly suffered bite wounds on both hands, she was treated and released. Kona was taken to the vet and returned home with stitches, having sustained injuries mostly to her shoulder.

“I hope she understands that she’ll be okay and that we hate that she’s in pain,” Kimberly said. “I would never let anything happen to her.”

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