How far would you go to save your dog’s life? You probably would do just about anything. For any of us who have owned a dog, we know how attached we get to them and how big of a role they end up playing in our lives.
32-year-old Trent Tweddale from Pasco County, Florida would tell you that he would “fight tooth and nail” for his six-year-old rescue dog, Loki. And, well, he recently did on June 15 when he encountered Loki almost becoming lunch for a large alligator!
During Tweddale’s walk with his trusty canine on his flooded farm after a big rainstorm, a gator unexpectedly jumped out, latching onto Loki’s front leg. The alligator began pulling the dog towards the water right before Tweddale’s eyes.
“It all happened so fast,” the dog owner said. “It seemed like a million years and a second all at the same time.”
Tweddale acted quickly and attempted to pull Loki from his grip until he realized the gator was about to win the battle. Then he did the next best thing he could think of: punch the gator until he let go of his dog.
“I grabbed the dog’s collar to try to pull him back and I ended up in a tug-of-war match with this gator, and the gator was not letting go. So I let go of the collar, and I got about knee-deep into the water and started pounding on the gator’s head until he eventually let go.”
Luckily, Tweddale was successful in saving Loki but just barely.
“I’ll never forget running outside to (his) screams and holding Loki’s shredded, broken leg together to stop the bleeding,” Tweddale’s wife, Kristina, said, who later arrived at the scene after her husband quickly phoned her up. “I thought for sure Loki would die in my arms before we made it (to the vet’s).”
Tweddale was left without wounds, but unfortunately for Loki, he was injured pretty badly.
“When I pulled him back up, the bones were out and it looks like the arm was just hanging by a shred,” Tweddale explained.
After a visit with their local vet, Loki underwent emergency surgery that involved having metal plates and screws placed in his leg. With how serious the injury was, it may take months for recovery to take place.
“We’re hoping that he can regain full use of his paws after this.”
For now, the Tweddale family is keeping a close eye on their injured canine. And Mr. Tweddale plans on setting up a trap to catch the aggressive alligator.
Loki is so tough. You can view pictures of the sweet fella below!
