A Fruitland Park man is thankful his dog is alive after it was attacked by an alligator.
The dog, a West Highland White Terrier named Capone, disappeared while the owner, John Thall, was working to remove debris left behind by Hurricane Irma, the man said.
"I was on my roof cleaning hurricane debris and I had my blower going so I didn’t hear anything.
Then I noticed him and one of my other dogs was missing,” said Thall.
He and his neighbors searched for Capone for hours.
“When I came off the roof, I went looking. By the time I had circled around the block calling for him and got back home, the one dog had returned and was inside the house soaking wet with his tail between his legs,” Thall said. “I knew something bad was going on.”
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Thall and his neighbors searched some more, but Thall was giving up hope.
“My one dog that did come back likes to swim in the canal. He must have brought (Capone) with him,” he said. “(I) came to the conclusion he was gone and a gator got him and he wasn’t coming back. We went to bed thinking we were never going to see him again.”
But at 5 a.m. the next day, Thall’s wife heard a familiar sound.
Watch: Thall describes how Capone came back home
Today I talked with the owners of a dog that was attacked by an alligator and survived. This happened in a Fruitland Park neighborhood. The dog disappeared while the owner was working to remove debris, left behind by Hurricane Irma. He and neighbors searched for hours, but couldn't find the dog anywhere. Nearly 15 hours later, they found their dog and discovered what happened to him. The pictures are graphic, but fortunately the dog is expected to survive. WFTV Channel 9
Posted by Myrt Price WFTV on Wednesday, September 27, 2017
“My wife heard a bark and went outside. She saw him doggy-paddling in the canal, trying to get out. I don’t know how he managed to survive the night,” Thall said.
Capone had severe wounds and was rushed to a veterinarian.
“He came back to us. We got him to the vet. They cleaned the wounds and (he) was on an IV for two days,” Thall said.
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Capone underwent surgery Monday and there’s still fear of an infection, but Thall said the dog will recover.
Thall said he has an electric fence in his yard, but it hadn’t been working.
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