A Louisiana couple were surprised in the middle of the night by an unwelcome visitor in their home: a 5-foot alligator.
Don and Jan Schultz are not strangers to wildlife. The couple recently moved to New Iberia from City of Yuma, Arizona, where rattlesnakes and scorpions are common.
But last week, the Schultzs were awoken in the middle of the night by their Australian Cattle Dog, Panda.
“She growled. I thought that there was probably a cat walking through the yard,” Jan told NBC affiliate KPNX. “She growled again and I heard a thump. And I was like, 'Oh, somebody’s in the house.'"
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When Don went to see what the sound was, he came face-to-face with an alligator in his hallway.
“I took a big leap backwards," Don said. "The same way I did in Arizona when I saw rattlesnakes. I told my wife, 'There’s an alligator in the house.' She thought I was joking. I had to take a picture to prove it to her,” he added.
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KPNX reports the couple believes the gator was lurking in their yard, and when Panda went out to relieve herself, the reptile likely followed her back inside the house through her doggy door.
The couple called 911 and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and sheriff’s deputies responded.
Photos and videos from the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office shared on Facebook shows deputies trying to wrangle the gator as it thrashes wildly.
Meanwhile, the Schultzs hope they won't have to worry about alligators sneaking into their home anymore. They've since installed a smart doggy door which can only be opened with Panda’s collar.
