Florida man, 77, recounts saving his own dog from an alligator's jaws: 'I had my hands in his mouth'

A beardown assemblage and crisp mind gave a 77-year-old Florida man nan expertise to prevention his religious furry companion from nan jaws of an alligator — nan 2 of them escaping pinch injuries, but surviving to show nan communicative arsenic gator mating play approaches and standoffs betwixt humans and gators deed caller headlines.

"I couldn't watch that animal termination my dog," Art Auwaerter of Moore Haven, Florida, told Fox News Digital. 

"I had nary choice. I had to do something."

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"I jumped connected his back, correct down his head, and I grabbed his precocious jaws and pulled up to get him to fto Rodger go," Auwaerter said.

Auwaerter lives a mostly serene life connected nan banks of nan Caloosahatchee River, on pinch his wife, Terry, and his canine Rodger, a fierce-looking 100-lb. achromatic Italian mastiff.

Art Auwaerter, a 77-year-old weightlifter successful Florida, recovered himself successful a risky business arsenic he rescued his canine from nan jaws of an alligator. (Art Auwaerter)

"He loves nan water," Auwaerter said. "When we spell outside, he goes correct for nan river. And astir of nan time, I'd spell successful pinch him."

But 1 time past summer, Auwaerter decided to beryllium down and return it easy while Rodger went for a swim.

"I made a large mistake," Auwaerter said. 

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"I sat down successful nan mediate of nan backyard successful nan section chair, alternatively of stepping complete to nan stream slope pinch him. He went onto nan bank, which is astir six aliases 7 feet supra nan h2o level. So erstwhile you spell down nan bank, you suffer show of whoever's going down there." 

Auwaerter's canine Rodger was playing adjacent nan h2o erstwhile each of a abrupt Auwaerter heard a elephantine scatter — and knew thing was wrong. (Art Auwaerter)

A fewer seconds later, Auewaerter said he heard a large splash.

"I knew instantly what was going connected because there's only 1 point that could origin that big, large scatter – and that's a large alligator attacking him," he said.

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"So, I ran complete to nan slope and judge enough, it's a large alligator."

Auwaerter said that's erstwhile his instincts kicked in.

Art Auwaerter and his woman Terry, pictured present — who called 911 — person been together for much than 50 years. (Art Auwaerter)

"I didn’t moreover deliberation astir it," he said. "You conscionable do what you person to do and that’s what I did."

A competitive Olympic weightlifter since he was 16, Auwaerter had nan spot to backmost up what his instincts told him to do. 

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Olympic is simply a people of weightlifting successful which athletes assistance a barroom loaded pinch weights from nan level to complete their caput — and nan extremity is to assistance nan astir weight possible.

"I've been doing it for a agelong time, and I deliberation it makes you arsenic beardown arsenic you tin perchance be," Auwaerter said. 

Auwaerter is progressive successful Olympic weightlifting, which is simply a class of weightlifting that involves 2 circumstantial lifts that are besides utilized successful nan Olympic Games. He competes respective times a year. (Art Auwaerter)

Without hesitation, Auwaerter grabbed onto nan jaws of what Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission agents later called a 7-foot alligator — and tried to stun him into letting spell of his dog.

"And he did immediately," Auwaerter said. "I'm judge nan alligator ne'er had anybody do that before, truthful he fto Rodger spell immediately."

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But past nan gator turned his attraction to Auwaerter. 

"I had my hands successful his rima and arsenic acold arsenic he knows, I’m attacking him," he said. 

Rodger nan canine was successful nan rima of an alligator — and Auwaerter grabbed nan jaws of nan reptile to effort and break his beloved pet free.  (Art Auwaerter)

"I retrieve my fingers fresh perfectly successful nan gaps betwixt his teeth. I could consciousness his teeth and abruptly he shook really violently and rolled, and he threw maine disconnected into nan water, which was astir 2 feet deep," Auwaerter recalled.

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Auwaerter said he sewage up arsenic accelerated arsenic he could and grabbed Rodger to get him to safety, but past nan alligator grabbed Auwaerter.

"He chomped down connected my near thigh," Auewaerter said. 

The alligator grabbed Auwaerter's thigh earlier nan gator yet opened his jaws and fto go. (Art Auwaerter)

"So I reached down to effort to get him disconnected my leg, and he fto maine go. I said, 'Wow, I'm free.' I grabbed Rodger, I threw him complete nan slope and I climbed up nan slope and we some sewage away." 

Auwaerter and Rodger each sustained immoderate injuries from nan gator attack.

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"He sewage Rodger beautiful good," Auwaerter said. "He trim him up beautiful bad and I had a large gash successful my leg, which was wide open. It looked terrible, but it wasn't bleeding."

"I knew instantly what was going connected because there's only 1 point that could origin that big, large splash."

Auwaerter said that he limped complete to his location and yelled to his woman to telephone 9-1-1. 

"It was astonishing really speedy everybody came, betwixt nan section constabulary and nan EMTs and nan Florida Fish and Wildlife officers," Auwaerter said.

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Auwaerter was taken by ambulance to nan emergency room, wherever he spent respective hours having his coiled cleaned and stapled shut. 

Rodger was tended to astatine location by Terry Auwaerter. 

Auwaerter of Moore Haven, Florida, and his canine Rodger, an Italian mastiff. (Art Auwaerter)

They some person nan scars to beryllium it.

Now, Auwaerter said, Rodger has a patient respect for what could beryllium lurking successful nan h2o adjacent his house. 

"I wouldn't opportunity he is acrophobic of it, but he does not want to spell successful nan river," he said. 

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Auwaerter said nan alligator had to beryllium put down, since it attacked a human.

Alligators unrecorded successful each 67 counties successful Florida and tin beryllium recovered successful practically each caller and brackish h2o bodies and occasionally successful brackish water, according to nan Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). 

Although nonstop organization figures are unknown, Florida has a patient and unchangeable organization of complete 1 cardinal alligators of each size.

Anyone who encounters an alligator that is believed to airs a threat to people, pets aliases spot should telephone nan FWC’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline astatine 1‐866‐FWC‐GATOR (392‐4286). 

"I could consciousness his teeth and abruptly he shook really violently and rolled."

The FWC’s Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) uses contracted nuisance alligator trappers passim nan authorities to region alligators 4 feet successful magnitude aliases greater that are believed to airs a threat.

On July 31, 2023, nan FWC received a study of an alligator wound of an big man adjacent a backstage residence successful Glades County. The man was bitten while rescuing his canine from nan alligator, Arielle Callender, the nationalist accusation director, South Region of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, confirmed to Fox News Digital.  

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Both nan man — Auwaerter— and nan canine sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

"The alligator was harvested and transferred to a processing facility," Callender said. 

Whether aliases not an alligator is killed depends connected nan circumstances of the incident, she added. Alligators go much visible and progressive during outpouring and summer. 

Auwaerter has not fto this incident go an obstacle for him and will proceed to train while he is connected nan mend aft nan attack. (Art Auwaerter)

"When temperatures rise, their metabolism increases, and they summation activity levels," Callender said.

As for Auwaerter, he plans to proceed his training. "I'm competing astatine slightest 2 aliases 3 times a year," he said. 

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"In astir 4 weeks is simply a large nationalist title successful Baton Rouge. Hundreds and hundreds of weight lifters are coming from each complete nan state to compete. In my property group, which is 75-79, location are 19 of us."

He believes weightlifting not only helped prevention his canine — but besides is nan key to occurrence and longevity.

"It gives you assurance that you tin do things and that you tin do anything," Auwaerter said. 

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"And, you know, I would've done nan aforesaid point astir apt anyway, but I whitethorn not person been successful if I didn't do weightlifting. And for my age, I'm beardown and fit."

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