People are known to perform feats of heroic bravery when it comes to their beloved pets. We recently brought you the story of a spitfire 73-year-old man who punched a bear in the face to save his chihuahua. Now, meet Lori Beiswenger, the woman who jumped into a pond after a 7-and-a-half foot alligator to save her terrier, Hope.
Beiswenger is the owner of the Point O’ Woods Golf Course in Inverness, Fla. Earlier this month, she was out doing some gardening near the sixth hole with Hope when she suddenly heard her dog screaming “the most awful, piercing scream she had ever heard in her life,” and immediately knew it was an alligator. When she turned, she saw the alligator disappearing into a nearby pond with her pet in its jaw, and knew she had to spring into action.
“I jumped in, grabbed the [gator’s] tail and pulled him back and he started thrashing and rolling her [Hope] some more,” she said.
Beiswenger pulled the gator’s tail a second time. “The third time I did it, he turned around and looked at me,” she said.
Fearing for her life, Beiswenger got out of the water. Beiswenger told ABC Action News she threw herself onto the ground and kept screaming.
Finally, Jodie Daniels, a golf course volunteer, who was teeing up on hole one, heard Hope yelping. That’s when he ran over to help.
Using a shovel, Daniels was able to free Hope from the gator’s jaws, and the dog was miraculously able to make it to shore on its own. Hope later underwent a three hour surgery to repair a severed artery, but has since made a full recovery. The alligator, on the other hand, was dispatched by a private company that later sold its meat to a local restaurant, so it was a happy ending for everyone.
Well, not for the alligator, obviously. But for the dog, the dog’s owner, and the restaurant customers who got to eat the alligator, things were all right.
(Via WFTS ABC News)