This Dog was Rescued from a Gator Attack by His Dog-Sitter

Dog’s are traditionally known as man’s best friend, but I’m sure if you could ask black lab Carbon, he’d say the feeling is mutual, at least when it comes to Donald Copps.

The pup, who Copps was dog-sitting for friends on a cruise, was taking a relaxing swim in a Florida lake near a golf course earlier this month when he was attacked by a 7-foot gator. Carbon was bitten on the leg, but Copps — who was golfing with friends Brian and Yuliya Vail — jumped into the water and distracted the gator long enough to allow the labrador to get away before exiting the water himself.

“By the time I gathered my senses, the dog was out of the water and I’m in it up to my chest, just feet from the gator,” Copps told the Naples Daily News.

“He was crying, yelping,” Copps continued. “I put him on a golf cart, went home to change my wet clothes and took him to an ER. He was spooked. We all were.”

Copps brought Carbon to a local vet, Dr. Lon Miyahira, to patch up the wounds. He was treated for flesh wounds, and had two drainage tubes put in. According to the vet however, things could have been much worse.

“The dog was really lucky. When I hear alligator bite or attack, I expect worse. It’s hard to recommend jumping into the water, but it’s probably why the dog was not badly injured.”

Carbon has been comfortably recovering from his wounds since the injury. Meanwhile, Yuliya Vail was still in awe of Donald Copps’ actions on the golf course that day: “I think most people would freeze. He jumped in. I thought it was heroic of him. That gator could’ve drowned Carbon. We could have watched him die.”