Buddy Ackerman of Palm Harbor, a city about 30 minutes northwest of Tampa, opened up to local stationABC Action Newsabout the harrowing July 9 incident — which saw a nearly 8-foot gator make quick work of grabbing the canine, named Osi, as the pup was relieving himself near a backyard pond.
“He was squealing a good bit when the thing grabbed him,” Ackerman told the outlet, recalling being “a nervous wreck” and slipping and falling onto his backsidewhile “tugging” against the reptile.
“Alligator is going one way, I’m going the other,” he said.
Alligator.
Eventually, Ackerman recounted, the gator “opened its mouth real wide and backed up a little” after he kicked the reptile two times in the snout. The maneuver allowed Osi to get free from the larger animal’s grasp.
“My father is our hero,” Ackerman’s daughter, Jody, told ABC Action News of her dad, who was watching the dog while she was on vacation. “Osi and I are so very grateful that nobody was hurt.”
An adorable snapshot taken after the incident showed Osi next to a“DANGER” sign with a picture of a gatoron it, warning people not to “feed” the animals.
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TheTampa Bay Timesreports that it was dark outside when the incident occurred, as Ackerman was walking Osi around 5:30 a.m. local time, and that the dog walked away without injury.
“I’m chalking it up to good luck,” Ackerman told theTimesof his victory. “I was worried more about my daughter and how she would feel.”
According toABC Action News, trappers retrieved the gator — who was 7 feet, 7 inches long — the next day, on July 10.
source: people.com
