A Florida man has recalled the moment he grabbed at a nine-foot alligator after the beast had grabbed his pet dog.
As reported by Fox News, Tallahassee resident Josh Wells was playing fetch with his dog during an afternoon lunch back in June.
However, the outing turned tragic when Toby, a 40-pound black labrador retriever mix, was suddenly snatched by a near-10-foot alligator.
Wells had been throwing a tennis ball for Toby at the J.R. Alford Greenway Trail off of Buck Lake Road.
At one moment, the beloved dog was standing elbow-deep in a pool of water that reportedly serves as drainage for the nearby residential area, per the Tallahassee Democrat.
Then "boom, the water just sort of exploded," Wells said. The engineer recalled how Toby never barked or noticed that the gator was approaching.
Wells - who bought Toby for his son amid the pandemic - even attempted to physically intervene in an attempt to save his dog's life.
However, after grabbing at the giant reptile, Wells let go when he noticed just how big the alligator was. Per a report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife, the alligator was grabbed Toby was 9ft 2" long.
"[Wells] said he soon realized that was not a good idea and let the alligator go," an FWC report stated.
FWC Officer Benjamin Johnson says a trapper was able to locate Toby's remains and return them to the family for burial.
Additionally, the alligator that took Toby was also found and later euthanized.
Toby was not on a leash at the time of the incident.
The FCW reports that an estimated 1.3 million alligators live in Florida, and are more regularly sighted in spring/summer as their metabolisms increase.
The wildlife agency urged all pet owners to keep their animals on leashes when near areas of water.
Wells said that the area he used to visit with Toby frequently has children playing nearby and is popular with residents.
"There’s cul-de-sacs, you’re not expecting a gator to come out and eat your dog," he said.
