JHooman.... the first time I skimmed your post I missed the "hot" in front of dogs...then saw the subsequent references to dogs and thought ..oh, no....that'll spur some strong replies. Glad I re-read it and see you were tossing Gator Sam some hot dogs and not pooches. Whew.

I think the statute of limitations has passed (as perhaps has gator Sam from all those nitrates)...so, you are forgiven.

I want to apologize if anyone thought I was "bashing" or just as bad, "lecturing." It was certainly not my intention. We are all adults and should be capable of civil discourse. We all have our own opinions and should be respectful of the opinions of others.

I don't post often, but this is a topic that is very important to me. I grew up in south Florida and have been around gators most of my life. I lived in Miami when gators were not protected and you could go into any roadside souvenier stand and buy a stuffed and shellacked baby gator wearing a cute little outfit or a gator claw back scratcher. I was young so I didn't even realize how disgusting this was. I remember when they faced extinction here in Florida and they were placed on the edangered species list (I think it was in 1967). Fortunately, over the last several decades of enforcing laws aimed at protecting gators they have made a comeback and are no longer endangered. Hopefully by abiding by laws (such as the laws prohibiting the feeding of gators), alligators will continue to be an integral part of our beautiful ecosystem. I love seeing them in their natural habitat and firmly believe that humans and gators can coexist.

I'm not a big fan of bird feeders either. My mom used to have many birdfeeders in our back yard. She loved watching the beautiful bluejays, cardinals, and other birds flock to our backyard--until the neighborhood cats realized that hanging out by the bird feeders was an easy way to get a quick meal. Kinda like a McDonalds for cats. Once my mother realized she was responsible for the needless deaths of many of the birds she enjoyed watching, she stopped feeding the birds. I'm sure they found plenty of food on their own.

No feeders or anything else you mentioned in my yard....I have plenty of plants that attract creatures...and besides, those d***d squirrels would think the feed was just for them. I don't need any more squirrels, thank you very much.....;)

Thanks for all the answers...both positive and negative as they have given me pause to think. I thought that taking grandkids to feed the turtles was going to be one of the traditions we could do as we start our new life in TV. I had heard it talked about so much by others and now it has become a special treat for the younger grandkids. I know they'll outgrow it in a few years but we will always remember our evening walks along the lake after dinner when we fed the turtles (trying NOT to feed the alligator).

Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you very much......:angel::angel::angel: