Gator guard

Having an alligator in the pond out back is a neat thing, as long as alligator and human remember limitations and boundaries.

Having an alligator is not the same as having a lion. To start with, seldom does one find “a lion” in the wild, whereas alligators almost always travel in ones. A pride can be much more intrusive than a single big reptile.

Our alligator has, so far, stayed in its confines. The pond out back is around an acre and has sufficient fish and turtles to satisfy an alligator appetite.

The alligator, however, has made an appearance close to shore the last two times my wife and I kept our daughter’s three dogs. The youngest dog looks like a Dogo Argentino. It has all the colorations and weight and, therefore, is not a likely alligator meal, unless an alligator happened to be very hungry and aggressive. Our dogs are Standard poodles, 87 and 60 pounds.

The other two dogs are Pugs. Perfect alligator meals. Right weight for eating and right size for not putting up much of a fight if grabbed.

This morning, my wife said, “I am taking the dogs out back. I’ll keep the big ones on leashes and try to keep Lola and Jack (Pugs) away from the pond.”

Reading the unspoken request, I said, “Do you want me to stand gator guard?” She said that was a good idea,

I got my 5.5-foot walking stick and journeyed out back. I positioned about six feet from the water, a proper distance for one armed with a walking stick only slightly less than six feet long. The three big dogs were, of course, trying to go in three different directions. But they were leashed, and my wife is quite good at controlling leashed dogs.

The not-leashed Pugs went along the levee but did not venture near the water. That was good, because my legs no longer make quick turns or strides. A quick turn and attempted stride made at the same time will result in my body contacting whatever surface I am walking on. Thick grass makes a good landing surface, but if the alligator should burst from the water and land between the Pugs and me, its speed likely would be greater than mine.

Nothing untoward happened this morning. I expect only toward events when we take the dogs out.

But seeing snout and eyes just above the surface gives one pause.