A man who took a stroll outside his motel room early Tuesday morning was the victim of a dog bite, only this was Sarasota, Florida, and what he thought was a dog, was actually an alligator.
Investigators say the man told them he was walking outside the motel overnight when he spotted a dark figure moving along the bushes on the shell path.
“He stated the figure appeared to look like a dog with a long leash, which is why he wasn’t hesitant to move out of the way,” a sheriff’s office spokesperson wrote in an email, according to WTSP.
That’s when deputies say the alligator bit off a chunk of his right leg, as he tried to get away. Luckily, he was able to flag down one deputy who called for paramedics.
The man was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Venice.
Sgt. James Achille managed to capture the gator before the licensed trapper arrived. The trapper then removed the reptile from the area.