Wesley Chapel, FL – A family dog named Zeus is being hailed as a miracle survivor after a terrifying encounter with an alligator that dragged him into a pond from his own backyard.
On the night of June 2, Zeus, a German Shepherd, heard a noise and slipped through his doggie door to investigate — only to be ambushed by a 9-foot alligator that crashed through the family’s backyard fence. The predator grabbed Zeus and pulled him into the nearby water, where a brutal struggle ensued.
“My dad came in frantic. I’d never seen him like that,” said Susan Alkhatib, Zeus’ owner. “He said, ‘The alligator just took Zeus.’”
The family rushed outside and watched in horror as the alligator thrashed with Zeus’s head clamped in its jaws. Miraculously, Zeus managed to break free from the reptile’s grip. Exhausted, the dog struggled to return to shore until Susan’s mother waded into the water and pulled him to safety.
The dog was immediately rushed to an emergency vet, where doctors performed surgery to realign and wire his fractured jaw. Zeus also suffered numerous puncture wounds and infections.
“The vet told us the gator had just missed his jugular — it looked like Zeus’s entire head had been in the gator’s mouth,” the family wrote in a GoFundMe post. “The fact that he made it out alive is nothing short of a miracle.”
A video taken earlier that day showed the same gator lurking near the pond behind the home. Now, the family says they’re rethinking their backyard safety — including covering up Zeus’s doggie door.
Zeus is continuing his recovery, and while the physical wounds will take time to heal, his family says the emotional impact of the attack has changed how they view their surroundings.
As of now, no word has been given on whether the gator was later captured or relocated.
