A Florida alligator got a taste of some “Rocky” inspired boxing skills this month when a woman fought to save her 4-month-old puppy.
“My dad was a Brockton cop. There’s two famous people from Brockton: Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, two boxers,” said Pasco County, Fla., resident Danie Wright, formerly of Brockton, Mass., according to Spectrum News. “So, they always say, you know, ‘Brockton tough.’ But my dad always said, ‘You know, if anyone ever gets you, fight for your life.”
Wright didn’t think she’d be fighting for her life that day, Sept. 3. She was just walking her new puppy, Dex, near a creek behind the home where she’s lived for 20 years.
After a moment with her eyes off the leashed dog, Wright heard a squeal and looked to see the pup being pulled into the water by a gator. Despite the danger, she launched into action.
As Wright got into the water, the first order of business was getting Dex out of the alligator’s jaws. Although the puppy was trapped by the front teeth, she said he wasn’t too far into the gator’s mouth.
“I took him, and I tossed him up onto the bank. By then, my arm was in the alligator’s mouth,” she told Spectrum. Wright grabbed the dog’s collar – which had an AirTag on it – to get him out.
Taking a cue from Marciano (made famous in the “Rocky” films starring Sylvester Stallone) and her Brockton roots, Wright starting punching, kicking and elbowing the 5-foot long gator. This approach worked – she was able to flip it on its back and punch it in the eye and the alligator eventually lost its grip.
Once she escaped the creature, Wright’s return to land again called to mind some films, but not in the “Rocky” franchise.
“So, then, I literally just come walking out of here looking like Swamp Thing and ‘Carrie’ from the movie,” she said. Her tussle with the gator also left Wright with wounds on her arms, but those were healing as of this week.
After the incident, a trapper caught the gator and hauled it off, Dex barking at it. He wasn’t injured in the incident. Wright thinks the AirTag saved Dex’s life by blocking the gator’s teeth. Wright had never seen a gator in the creek before, but said she did heart about a 13-foot alligator that was recently trapped nearby.
“Just this five-foot gator, how strong his, I mean, I could not get my arm out of his mouth. He was so strong. But I am so, so thankful, I’m thankful that this guy is fine,” Wight said.
This March, Audacy reported on another Florida resident who battled a 7-foot long gator to save their dog in Volusia County. That fight resulted in the man shooting the gator four times in its head. In 2023, Audacy also reported on a massive, 14-foot long gator found in a Florida waterway during a death investigation. Per the Florida Wildlife Commission, there are more than 1 million gators estimated to be living in the state.
According to Spectrum, Pasco County Sheriff’s Office confirmed deputies assisted with an animal complaint involving an alligator on Wright’s street on Sept. 3. It referred Spectrum News to the Florida Wildlife Commission for details, but the FWC did not respond to a request for more information.
“If you’re looking at something or listening to something, you’re not watching your dog,” Wright said. “This guy came out of nowhere. Never saw him. So, you have to have your eyes on your dog the entire time you walk.”