FACTS. Both the woman and the pet were injured, but managed to survive. | Photo courtesy Suzan Marciano via USA Today.
Suzan Marciano, a 74-year-old Florida resident, battled an alligator about six feet or more to save Nalu, her mongrel golden retriever who was attacked while they were strolling in a lake in Burt Aaronson Park, a town west of Boca Raton.
The context: The attack occurred around 6:30 pm on Tuesday, August 24, but the story went viral on Tuesday when it was published in the media. Marciano was playing with Nalu near the water, clear and shallow, when he noticed a black shadow that turned out to be the alligator.
- After the animal attacked the pet, Marciano pounced to help him escape. After the alligator released Nalu, it bit the woman on one hand.
- Both the woman and the pet escaped the alligator and came out of the lake. A friend convinced her to seek medical help, as reported USA Today.
- Marciano went to a local emergency center where he received five stitches on his hand. Nalu suffered stomach and thigh injuries, underwent surgery for two hours in a veterinary emergency clinic.
What do they say? I wasn’t thinking (…) I did the only thing I could do. I pounced on the alligator with all my weight (…) Providence must have been with me. It was all a big blur. I was in such a state of shock. I didn’t feel any pain, ”Marciano said.
- “I hardly go (to the emergency room). All I could think was, ‘I want to get home.’ I was in such a terrible state that I didn’t think clearly, ”the woman said.
- Nalu took up the walks gradually, first in the nearby neighborhood.
Main source of the news: USA Today.
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