Man heard a splash and found his dog struggling in the jaws of a large alligator — his bravery saved his pet
A bond between a pet and his owner comprises an unfathomable love. Bonner Herring had this intact and crucial bond with his pet dog, Strike, per WWAY3. The man loved his pet so selflessly that he was willing to brave terrifying danger to rescue his canine. Herring feared that his dog had somehow fallen into trouble and right enough, he saw Strike close to the face of danger — struggling with an alligator in a pond. Herring didn’t hesitate to jump into action selflessly to rescue his beloved pet.
According to the American Kennel Club, dogs and humans have a bond interwoven in a special way. Dr. Clive Wynne, a psychologist at Arizona State University and author of “Dog is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You,” noted that dogs can connect emotionally with other species. Calling it “interspecies love,” he mentioned that the connection canines have are of a special nature. This was just a rough idea of the in-depth attachment Herring had with Strike. So, when his buddy was in the face of danger, there was no question about what he wanted to do in response.
Herring has been living on a family property since the 1950s and is no stranger to wildlife. He noticed that an alligator had been spending time in his family pond of late. “Maybe a month ago, one in the seven or eight-foot range showed up and that’s a much bigger gator so I monitored him. And I usually would see him on this southern shore — that’s where they warm up and start their day,” Herring recalled. One day, he missed his usual check and that’s when things took an untoward turn. The man let his dog out and got busy with his own work.
Sometime later, he heard a terrifying yell. He tried calling the canine but received no response, further confirming his fears. “I yelled out Strike’s name as loud as I could, which normally when I do that, he comes running. He didn’t come running. So I started running,” Herring recounted. He heard his dog scream with a yell he had never heard from him before. “And I heard a splash. And immediately, I knew what it was. There was no hesitation on my part,” he added. He took a rake and rushed towards the pond. As he got near, he was able to see ripples in the water and then eventually saw Strike’s head.
“It was way further than I wanted it to be,” the man noted. Nevertheless, he jumped into the water and saw Strike helplessly in the jaws of the alligator, in desperate need of help. Their connection probed Herring to empathize with his pet and act faster. “He just had this look of — please do something, Daddy, please do whatever you can. And I made the decision that I was not going home without him,” he said. He strategically freed Strike from the jaws of the alligator and got him under his own arm. The giant creature, bigger than what Herring had ever seen before, puffed and struggled but the man quickly escaped with Strike.
He rushed the canine to the vet and learned he had a broken leg. The dog was immediately moved to emergency care. “And I lost it for a second. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t answer questions. And the lady beside me — she was nice. She said, ‘It’s going to be okay,’” Herring recalled. The man later realized that his approach was an extremely dangerous one and should not be followed by others. However, one can only understand the sense of urgency that came out of love. Herring urges pet parents to keep pets away from shorelines, especially if there’s scope for water reptiles and creatures to make their way there.