A 72 year old Floridian says he was just doing what any pet parent would do when he tackled a six foot alligator in order to save his dog.
Thanks to remarkable bravery and quick thinking on his owner’s part, Doogie is resting comfortably while he recovers at a local vet. The 27 pound Westie had the scare of a life time when he found himself locked in the jaws of a hungry reptile in the marsh behind his Palm City home.
Gary Murphy described the attack in an interview with local news affiliate WPTV: “I’m right here, standing right here and I hear a yip,” says Murphy, “I look down. The gator’s right here with Doogie in his mouth.”
Murphy said that’s when instinct took over. “I must have cleared this by a foot,” he said, referring to the rope railing of his boat dock. “I had loafers on and I hit the back of that gator. It was like jumping on a pile of rocks. But when I did, I caught him right behind the head here, I hit him here and his mouth opened and Doogie took off.”
Doogie will be spending a few days hooked up to an antibiotic IV drip while receiving care for multiple puncture wounds, but vets say that surprisingly enough, he should be back to himself in no time – thanks to the devotion of his loving, and very protective guardian.
“I wasn’t trying to be a hero,” Gary Murphy said Friday. “I just wanted my dog back.”
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