Unexpected surprise: Man finds alligator in his home
The gator left a mark on a chair and left the Quinns a souvenir: two of its teeth!
By Muhammad Abdul Qawee
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GATEWAY, Florida (WBBH) — Paul Quinn will never forget what happened to him Sunday morning at his home along Chadsford Circle.
“It’s one of those things, you don’t think that it will happen to you,” said Paul Quinn.
Instead of doing his usual routine of checking his email, he was being checked out by a nearly 7-foot gator inside his home.
“I’m like is that really an alligator in my living room or in the kitchen area here? He saw me, and he started running, and I’m like, oh I got to deal with this today,'” said Quinn.
Paul was by himself at the time, his family wasn’t home. He called 911 and waited 50 minutes for FWC to arrive and remove the gator. He kept his distance and started taking pictures. The gator didn’t want to leave.
The Quinns told Gulf Coast News that they usually leave their door open to get some extra breeze inside, and the gator ripped a hole in the screen and caused a commotion.
Paul’s wife, Mary Jo, rushed home to see if he was ok, he wasn’t hurt, but had a few questions.
“Why did it come to your house, MJ? Two, how much an animal control charge to take it away, I would have been ticked had there been a bill,” said Mary Jo Quinn.
There was no bill, but the gator left a mark on a chair and left the Quinns a souvenir: two of its teeth!
This won’t stop the Quinns from what Florida has to offer.
“I don’t want to have a fear of an alligator just walking up our front walk into our foyer again; I can’t live like that; I live in Florida. I love living here, and I’m not leaving,” said Mary Jo Quinn.
“They always tell you to be careful, you know be mindful of the alligators, this is why,” said Paul Quinn.
FWC live transferred the alligator to an alligator farm.
The FWC places the highest priority on public safety and administers a Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP). The goal of SNAP is to proactively address alligator threats in developed areas while conserving alligators in areas where they naturally occur.
SNAP uses contracted nuisance alligator trappers throughout the state to remove alligators believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property.
People with concerns about an alligator should call the FWC’s toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286), and they will dispatch a contracted nuisance alligator trapper to resolve the situation.
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