Tampa dog owner pries open gator’s jaws to save pet from attack

Florida woman wrestles dog from alligator's mouth

FOX 13's Evyn Moon reports on a Tampa woman who pried her dog out of the mouth of an alligator after it attacked.

TAMPA, Fla. - A Floridian's worst nightmare: a battle between a dog and a gator, but it was no match for the dog's owner, who made sure her beloved pet was coming home and pulled her dog "Kona" from the alligator's grip.

Kim Spencer and her dog, Kona.

"I saw the eyes. I saw it turning itself around towards us, and I started pulling Kona away, saying, 'Let's go.’ But she’s a really strong dog," described Kim Spencer.

What they're saying:

Within just a few seconds, a gator launched itself out of the lake near their house and towards her dog Kona, and with one chomp, had Kona’s entire head in its jaws.

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Pictured: Kona.

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"She’s facing it, it's facing her, and it jumped out and got her. She was in up to here; her whole head was inside its mouth. I stopped thinking and just dove on it, jumped on it and straddled it, as lady-like as that is, and was trying to pry its jaws open."

Spencer against a 6-foot-6 gator. And she won, opening its jaws from behind and freeing her fur baby.

"Its back was to me, so it made me just jump on. We just got lucky because just as quickly as it ran after us, it ran back into the water, and we were out of there."

Dig deeper:

Both Kim and Kona needed stitches but are now healing physically and emotionally.

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Kim Spencer's hand after getting stiches.

"We are empty nesters; she's my baby, so I wasn’t ready to take on that mindset of an animal versus a human," Spencer said.

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Their story warns all parents to stay away and not feed wildlife in Florida neighborhoods.

"It could easily happen, and you might not be that lucky to get your child or your pet. Many people say they are more afraid of us than we are of them, clearly not the case."