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Owner Conflicted About Dog-Eating Gator's Capture

Tribune photo by CHRIS URSO

Trapper Julie Harter said the weather warmed enough for her and another agent to nab the alligator from a pond.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 15, 2008

Updated: 02/15/2008 06:21 pm

TAMPA - The owner of a dog killed by an alligator at Al Lopez Park said she was happy the gator was finally trapped Thursday but not so happy it's being killed.

"It was a tragedy for both animals," said Sarah Frey. "The gator was doing what he does and so was my dog."

She had hoped the alligator would be relocated, not butchered as a nuisance reptile.

Frey, who moved from Ohio 18 months ago, said an alligator that large should not have been allowed to remain in a city park – in part because children, as well as animals, are close by.

"It's a place where people go to enjoy themselves," she said. "It's a scary thought that you can walk down a path and be just 20 yards away from a dangerous animal."

She acknowledged she made a mistake in not keeping her dog, Freddy, a 5-year-old cairn terrier, on a leash. But she said she might have been a victim, too, if the alligator had attacked the dog while she held the leash.

"If I had my dog on a leash," she said, "I would have been dragged in."

Trapper Julie Harter said the weather warmed enough for her and another agent to nab the alligator from a pond at the park about 5:30 p.m. Thursday. It is 7 feet 7 inches long and weighs 175 pounds.

The alligator was in a cage at Harter's property in Lakeland. The animal probably will be butchered and the meat and hide sold, as usually is the case with alligators trapped as nuisance animals.

Harter had been making spot checks at the park since the alligator grabbed and killed the terrier after its owner freed it from its leash as they walked near the pond.

The carcass of the terrier was recovered Wednesday.

The two ponds at Al Lopez, an urban park on Himes Avenue south of Hillsborough Avenue, are home to other gators, Harter said.

Harter said she knew this was the right gator because the reptiles are territorial and it was found in the area where the dog was grabbed.

Harter said she called Frey to tell her of the capture. Frey was relieved, Harter said, and asked whether other alligators in the city should be removed, too.

Harter explained that state-licensed trappers only respond to complaints.

She said most alligators have learned to co-exist in urban settings and that in parks such as Al Lopez, the reptiles are an attraction for many who visit.

"Do you know how many alligators live inside the city limits?" Harter said. "A whole bunch."

It is unusual for an alligator to attack a dog during cold weather, Harter said. The reptiles usually lie low in cold weather, which prevented the trapper from grabbing the animal before Thursday.

"It got a little sunny and warm in the late afternoon," Harter said.

She said she used normal trapping techniques, involving a hook and line and taping the jaw shut.

On Monday morning, Frey and Freddy had just finished walking a lap around the park when she let him free of his leash.

The dog ran toward the southernmost of the two ponds, and Frey lost sight of him.

Tampa Parks and Recreation Operations Chief Cathie Schanz said she was not surprised to hear how big the alligator was that was taken from the pond on city property. This is, after all, Florida, she said.

"Theoretically, the assumption is that there are alligators if there is standing water," she said. "There's no reason to remove them, unless they are being aggressive. There was no indication that gator was aggressive."

Ponds on city property where alligators lurk are marked with warning signs, she said. In all parks, dog owners are told in posted signs that dogs must stay on leashes. She said Frey had been told before by city employees to keep her dog on a leash.

"We expect owners to be responsible," Schanz said. If owners want to let their dogs run, the city has built fenced areas where dogs can run and interact with other dogs.

"That park has a dog run," Schanz said, "a large one."

Editor Dennis Joyce contributed to this report. Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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