[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Now that is a hard thing to say….

Like so many other topics that get discussed here, the preconceived notions come to the fore. If one is comparing dangerous critter to dangerous critter, then the most dangerous critter on the planet happens to not be allligators at all, or even reptiles in general, but—MOSQUITOES!

It is common preconception though. I still get comments from people up north about the dangers of living in Florida, the top two being (in their minds anyway) the killer heat and deadly reptiles. But neither one is a danger if you use a little common sense. As tragic as the death of this woman was, the fact of the matter was that she was trying to rescue her dog from the alligator! Her mistake, and it turned out to be a deadly one, was that as I understand it her and her dog got too close to the water.

All that is needed is a little common sense. Don’t allow Rover to get too close to the water. Dogs are on the menu, people aren’t. Don’t look for your ball if you hit it into the weeds adjacent to a shoreline. Obey the signs that say don’t feed the alligators. Don’t go for romantic moonlight walks along any large(r) pond or body of water, especially not with Rover tagging along. Don’t get too close to that basking alligator so you can get the perfect picture (unless of course your idea of a “perfect picture” is a close-up of teeth). Use your head. Give the gators their space. Both species will be far happier.

You can Google the actual attack. The video I saw stopped after the Woman was knocked down as the VERY LARGE Gator charged out of the water (very fast on land) at the dog and then turned its attention to the woman. It must have gotten to brutal to show after that. I suggest that all the bunny-hugging Winston-lovers WATCH that video and put themselves in her place on the ground with this GIANT dinosaur-like creature with a 2 ft long open jaw up to her face ready to pounce. I won't ever forget that video!