Gary Murphy, 72, told TCPalm.com he isn't
a hero. "I just wanted my dog back."
Murphy was working on a boat
Thursday when he saw his 11-year-old West Highland White Terrier in
the jaws of an alligator. He immediately jumped on the gator's back
and hit it on the head until it released the
dog.
"It was like landing on a pile of
rocks," he said about jumping on the alligator. "If your kid was in
the water with its head in a gator's mouth, what would you
do?"
When the alligator released the dog,
Murphy scooped it up and ran inside his home. He took the dog to an
animal hospital the next day, where it was treated for a compressed
lung and cuts and puncture wounds to its back and
stomach.
Murphy said his healthy lifestyle
and having a background in construction gave him the strength to
rescue his dog.
Murphy said his wife, who was out of
town when the incident happened, asked him a single
question.
"Are you nuts?" she
asked.