A Florida man was bitten by an alligator that he mistook for a dog while walking around a motel early on Tuesday morning in Sarasota County, according to multiple reports.
The 49-year-old man was walking near the Warm Mineral Springs Motel in North Port at around 12:35 a.m. when he spotted a dark figure moving near the bushes on the path, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said, per WFLA-TV.
"He stated the figure appeared to look like a dog with a long leash, which is why he wasn't hesitant to move out of the way," Sarasota County Sheriff's spokesman Douglas Johnson said in a statement, according to WTSP-TV.
Johnson went on to explain what occurred when the 7-foot-1 long alligator attacked the man.
"That’s when the alligator bit his right leg, holding on, and pulling on his muscle/tissue," Johnson said in a statement, per NBC News. "He advised he attempted to get away at that point and felt the alligator rip a chunk of his muscle/tissue off."
Luckily, there was a deputy already in the area on an unrelated call, and the man was able to wave him down for help. The deputy then called for paramedics, who took the man to Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
Authorities then caught the alligator, and waited for a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) trapper to come and remove it from the area.
FWC spokesman Adam Brown confirmed that the alligator was removed and said in a statement that it was "being transferred alive to Townsend Farms" in LaBelle, Florida.
"The victim has been released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery," Brown added.
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