You do have to watch your dogs and cats. Never walk them without a leash and don't leave them in a screened-in lanai. We have alligators here (and everywhere else in Florida along with the southeastern coast up to southern North Carolina and across the Gulf of Mexico to Texas) but we also have bobcats, panthers and coyotes. Heck we also have quite a few bald eagles and they have been known to make meals out of small pets.
The official dog parks are the safest place to let your dog run. Gators are not aggressive but can be fast over short distances (as in "20 to 30 yards"). However, they can't climb fences. The "unofficial" dog parks some folks use are not fenced in.
You're probably safe on most sidewalks as long as your dog is on a leash but even then you might want to steer clear of the many lakes, water retention ponds and water traps that are everywhere in The Villages, especially at dawn and dusk (favorite alligator feeding times). Any body of water in Florida large enough to fit an alligator will likely have an alligator in it at some time.
Remember, alligators were here first. They belong here. We don't. We're just lucky enough to be able to live around them. And they're really pretty cool in their own way.
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