Lucky dog...

[MarkC]

CAIRNS, Australia - Buffy is getting steak for dinner this week — a perk after the dog nearly became a hearty meal himself for a 6-foot-long crocodile.



Seaplane pilot Ted Von Nida took his three dogs for a run on Sunday afternoon outside his home in Trinity Inlet — near the northeastern Australian city of Cairns — when he noticed two of the pets frozen in fear and Buffy in big trouble.


"He was trying to climb, like he was trying to get up a flight of stairs, and the croc had him and was just shaking him," Von Nida told reporters Tuesday.


"It was sickening, he was being flung from side to side. My dog was howling ... I just knew I had to get to him pretty quick."


Von Nida said he approached the crocodile, which released the dog from its clenched jaws and charged toward him.


"The croc saw me and heard my voice and thought: 'Here's a bigger meal,'" he said.


The crocodile circled Von Nida, who was able to retreat to retrieve Buffy. The dog suffered several long cuts to its leg.


Since the attack "I've been spoiling him and just giving him steak and sleep," Von Nida said.


He was surprised to see the crocodile only 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) by water from downtown Cairns.


Wildlife officers set traps on Monday to catch the animal, which may have made a home in a nearby inlet, Australian Associated Press reported.

 

[GSV]

My Malamute gets steak on his birthday. The other 364 days a year he is merely spoiled rotten.

 

[MarkC]

I used to cook my wolfhound's meals when she was sick. Then after her operation was performed and she was okay, she expected home cooking all the time.

 

[radiometer]

MarkC: Wow !! I'm glad you were able to save that dog. I would have thought there would be little chance once the crock had the little guy in his teeth. I guess you appeared more tempting and that made it possible to get the little guy. In my part of the world alligators sometimes get peoples' dogs. One dog's radio collar was tracked to the stomach of a gator. This sort of explained why a number of dogs had disappeared in the area. I would deeply regret my pet going that way.

 

[MarkC]

I'm sorry if this was unclear. The story wasn't about me saving this dog, it was taken from a news site. H3ll, I don't even live in Australia!
But I grew up in SE North Carolina, and I know a little bit about alligators. They live along the Cape Fear River, and in the little lakes and ponds on my little Island. Not unusual to see one walk through your yard, or down the street, especially after a hurricane.
I don't remember anybodys pets vanishing, though a few golfers were menaced from time to time. Seems that golf balls resemble gator eggs.
I'll tell you this though, I wouldn't hesitate(for long, anyway) if one grabbed my dog.