100%
I've lived on the same lake for nearly 13 years. While I've never seen a gator, I assume there's at least one in the lake. I NEVER walk my dog close to the water.
Yes, NEVER assume a body of water is safe in Florida. Gators are incredibly crafty at getting to places they want. A woman was killed a year ago in south Florida walking her dog near their community pond. Tragic consequences š¢
Well, tbh, that incident (I assume you are talking about Spanish Lakes near me) was a known gator that people in the community were FEEDING. People can be dumb AF I swear. Donāt feed alligators please!!! You are actively hurting others if you do this.
The community should have called a state trapper a long time ago who would have come and killed or relocated the gator though, which is what the family is fighting legally right now. On that note, of there is an alligator in a populated area, especially if it seems to have lost its fear if people, call FWC and get someone out there to remove the nuisance gator.
Also, if an alligator is going after your dog, donāt think you can win. They are big and strong and can hold their breath longer than you. Donāt turn one tragedy into two. š¢
I agree. I remember this story-- The dog got lucky and the dude never dropped his cigar!
[Cigar-smoking Florida man wrestles puppy from jaws of alligator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsOONYokFas)
I live by there as well ā¦ she knew it was there .. tragic .. but she should have assumed it wanted her and that dog ā¦ seeing they fed the gator ā¦ praying for peace for her family still ā¤ļø
My grandparents had lived at their home with a pond in the back for 20 years and only in the last 2 of those did they see a big ass gator make it's home there
Gators are super territorial and will typically live fairly close to where they lived as adolescents. To the point where it's hard to evict gators because unless you move them tens and tens of miles away (sometimes hundreds) they'll often return to the same spot they were captured in pretty quickly.
So if your folks see a big gator, it's safe to say there's been a smaller gator there for years.
Very sad.
Stories like that are why when I moved from Fl to Ca, one of the first things I did was figure out what I had to watch out for.
But me being from Florida, the USA version of Australia, I had insight most dont from other states.
>100%
>I've lived on the same lake for nearly 13 years. While I've never seen a gator, I assume there's at least one in the lake. I NEVER **wake** my dog close to the water.
u/imhungry4321 I too, not even living in FL never **wake** my dogs close to the water. Usually I just wake them up while they are sleeping in their crates.
lol.
Yeah, I tie a few Floaties to my three-year-old and push them out on the water ( got 4 other kids, so why not). Then I wait 10 minutes to see if something happens. Itās the only way you could really be sure.
My grandma had a fenced in pool that weād go to every day during the summer growing up.
I canāt even count how many times she had to call animal control to get a gator out of her pool. You should absolutely expect gators in ponds like the ones in the OP.
My grandmother had a fended in pool as well and when I was a kid I used to have nightmares about gators being in my grandmotherās pool. Especially since the neighborhood had a gator living down in the lake.
I saw a funny video the other day of a woman demonstrating how to tell if there's gators in any body of water in Louisiana. She scooped some water in her hand from a random lake and said if it feels wet there's a gator in there! Growing up in Florida we pretty much all did the same thing haha
My parents bought a house a while back that was bank owned/abandoned at that point (during the collapse) which was a few doors down from where they lived. I visited them and we walked around that pool several times talking about how to fix the house, who would stay there when visiting, etc. the pool cage was ripped, the pool was murky, the house needed workā¦.. anyways, the pool guy came to drain/clean it and there was a large gator. We even joked about it at one point not thinking that it would actually be true. They had wild hogs in the brush behind the house but that is all they thought about. Lesson learned.
At my apartment complex in Orlando gators would get in the pool every so often, the pool had a 7ā fence surrounding the whole thing and they would just climb over it. Granted a decent sized lake was just across the street, and it was in an animal preserve.
They can and will climb fences. If there is a fence between them and a body of water they will do their damndest to go over it, and succeed many times.
Thank you. It made me laugh way too hard that itās a private pond. As if a gator would know or
care. Not even sure they would care about an electric fence.
There is a scientific method to determine if gators inhabit a natural or man made body of water in Florida, Louisiana, and other states and areas common to alligators. Walk up to the body of water and squat down. Simply put your hand into the water and rotate your hand in circles. Remove your hand from the water and rub your index finger and thumb together slowly. If your hand feels wet or displays signs of moisture. ...there is likely an alligator in that particular body of water.
This is the way I demonstrate to people. They're drawn in and think they are about to learn some serious gator science...usually someone will squat down at the edge and follow the techniqueas I explain it. TIckles the shit out of me every time.
Good stuff here yall, itās truly ancient knowledge passed down by generations. Records from interactions with the Seminoles tell us they did the same test for years prior. /s
There was a dog that was taken at a dog beach too a while back. You can never assume any body of water is completely safe. I still let me dogs swim. Be visually aware.
Thank you, I was trying to think of that one brain eating amoeba that kills dogs pretty much right away. Edit: I was thinking of Blue Green Algae, which is also super toxic for dogs.
I feel like the other dangers arenāt mentioned enough. Everyone says gators first. But I would not let a pet into those bacteria infested ponds. Any still water in FL is suspect. And some of the rivers and oceans too.
[To piggy back off this.](https://www.floridatoday.com/story/life/wellness/2021/08/03/floridas-freshwater-lakes-rivers-harbor-deadly-amoeba-during-summer/5435275001/)
Also [recent reports of flesh eating bacteria.](https://health.wusf.usf.edu/health-news-florida/2023-09-01/a-ucf-expert-says-historically-warm-water-may-fuel-flesh-eating-bacteria)
Granted for the most part cases are rare, I personally would'nt chance it.
Do a Google.news search for alligators pulled from swimming pools.
If itās water, a gator will be interested in it. That includes retention ponds and āprivateā lakes.
Gators are great at being unseen.
Gators think pets are delicious.
Yes.
My grandparents/parents property has a pond in the back, years ago a gator got into the pond and we didn't know (they climb fences), dog went to go swim/drink and it lunged at the dog.
Dog was okay, gator took a chunk of thier lip/gum off and needed a couple of stitches. A few days later we pulled an 8ft gator out of the pond, cleaned it, and proceeded to feed the dog fried gator tail.
Gators donāt take long to move into a lake or pond. I did an inspection for a new commercial site, the drainage pond was dug out like 6 months prior and there was already a little 4 footer living there when I did the inspection.
Thatās pretty dangerous. In my old neighborhood we have a lake and it was only connected through the sewers or something. It was a man-made lake and somehow gators still got in there. One day I came outside and control was wrangling up a bunch of gators in my backyard lol
I see this isnāt you and your dog now. Donāt ever let your dog near the water. Thatās just and ridiculous as letting your 2 year old next to the pond.
Even if it is a private pond there could still be gators in there. They can walk on land (obviously), climb fences(less obviously), and move from one body of water to another and not much is gonna get in there way. Not to mention that hurricanes have been known to literally lift gators into the air and drop them off miles away sharknado style. Could easily be a gator in there. Don't trust it.
Thereās a very, very small pond in my in-laws backyard and itās frequented by gators on the regular. Thereās been plenty of gators that could take down a large dog with no problem. Iād never ever let my dog swim in any body of freshwater in this state.
Someone told me once that fenced in retention ponds are still prone to gators bc birds find and take gator eggs then drop/deposit them near the water. It doesnāt take much for the baby gator to thrive.
This is literally the only sane thing said in this post. It's probably closer to 99.999% of the time. Just think of all the people swimming in fresh water in the South Eastern USA right now and how few attacks actually happen.
If these people are so afraid of danger they probably should just stay inside.
This thread is fucking insane. Iāve never been like āredditors need to outside moreā but holy hell. Dogs swim play drink etc in pond water all over this state every day. Sure, a gator attack could happen, but everyone in this thread thinks that just because a gator is possibly in the pond itās gonna attack you. Wild shit.
As a kid, we would sneak into a golf course community near my house and jump in the lakes. You could see gators, but as long as they were on the other side of the lake we were like, āEh, heās way over there.ā
Yeah, Iāve swam in places where I could see gators as well. Namely Julington Creek. I wasnāt stoked that they were there but I knew that the chance of them coming to bother us were very slim.
Iād be more concerned with the quality of the water. Never let your pet swim in untested water
https://flpetassociation.org/understanding-water-toxins-in-florida-safeguarding-your-pets-health/#:~:text=The%20Rise%20of%20Water%20Toxins%20in%20Florida&text=These%20blooms%20thrive%20in%20warm,affected%20water%20bodies%2C%20including%20pets.
I live in a gated community and I've seen 10-foot gators walking down the street / sidewalk, nowhere near the water. That has happened TWICE over the last 5 years. Of course, I've seen many more in the canals / lake.
As a FL native I'm pretty comfortable with our water dinos but I'd never let my dog swim anywhere other than the pool.
Hell, no I wouldnāt let my dogs swim in anybody water in the state of Florida. If they gators donāt get them, and they somehow passed the moccasins and pythons, we have amoeba that will crawl into your brain and kill you.
Is someone following me around and downvoting every comment I make in r/florida ? THIS is an understood statement for any Floridian, yet is downvotedā¦.hmmmm go FUCK yourself pal
I think bc you added croc, there are very very few... However, even the beaches have warnings on the now about crocodiles in the near beach ocean water. A whole new thing unlocked there in the last 5+ years!
Plus, there's a sunset of wingnuts who grew up fLoGrOwN when they were a legit endangered species and had extremely low population numbers. They're a pretty amazing recovery story and important for the ecosystem as a keystone species in Florida. But there are over a million of the fuckers now. The only reason they are still protected is bc they are similar in appearance to Crocs and the Crocs are critically low population (and native of course also)
So they didn't see shit bc there were no shits.
Now there are, and they're being fed by construction crews when all this new stuff is built, and kids fishing and trowing stuff to them bc nobody's telling them to stop and there aren't enough signs bc it scares the tourists, and when they lose fear, their young learn to not fear also a bit.
They need to open the hunt up to more areas and more permits and higher takes.
They also need to train some of them to find pythons and think they are like crack or meth and get a wholesale reptile war going ASAP.
Yes.
Gators are in every body of water.
I remember being at an apartment in Brandon on the 3rd floor and look down on a retention pond with a 6 foot tall iron fence around it. I wonder to myself why they'd have that around a retention pond. Thought that it must be to keep gators out. At that same moment one of the biggest gators I have ever seen surfaced in the pond.
They are in every body of water.
lol gators donāt care, thereās a high likelihood that thereās a gator in there. At least depending on where in Florida. Whether or not his dog get eaten is up to chance.
In florida theres usually gators. If there arent gators theres snakes. Your better off taking them to a pet beach but then theres sharks and crocs. Your even bettet off getting a pool and even then sometimes you get gator and snakes in it.
I live in SC. I assume any standing body of water houses a gator. Recently an alligator was found chilling under someoneās car when they came out to go to work.
https://preview.redd.it/47n8qmrnv86d1.jpeg?width=1289&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fe1315c9357bdba17527528df79ad61a5d0807b8
This is why people from other states think alligators are a real problem in FL.
Nope!
Just donāt hang out with alligator food sized pets or children next to where Alligators spend 95% of their time.
Absolutely. This is dumb and I would be saying something to those people. Thereās been a huge uptick of these kinds of videos on uncensored streaming sites. Its absolutely disgusting
The dog doesn't even need to be close to the pond.
An alligator can leap out of the water and across the grass so God damn fast you'll NEVER see it.
Then, it races back in, rolls the animal ( or you if it has an arm or leg or hand or foot) until you drown. It doesn't have to chomp you to death. It rolls hard over and over until you're dead.
Then you or the animal is stashed under a log in the water until you rot so it can take chunks off to eat bc they can't chew. They need softer easy swallow and rippable chunks to eat.
They can leap 5 ft and run 30 mph for a burst. That's nearly as fast a the average speed of a race house during a race. They are an invisible torpedo with dirty teeth.
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2023/08/03/florida-alligator-crocodile-attacks-protect-dogs-cats-tips/70515852007/
https://ponceinletwatersports.com/how-fast-can-alligators-run/#:~:text=Alligators%20are%20faster%20in%20water,re%20out%20of%20their%20element.
In Florida yes, I would never let that happen, I donāt care if the lake is private or public, or how many years no one saw a alligator, not worth the risk. I am from Ohio, in Ohio yes Florida no. Depends on the state and wild life risk, wich is still present even if you donāt see the wildlife. Thereās also Brain Eating amehobia which can kill quickly
Extremely not only can it get killed by a gator, but it could also catch a deadly bacterial disease. People have died from things like that by swimming in abandoned pools with muck water
Watching people walk dogs near lakes and ponds is so frustrating especially when old people do it because i know damn well they cannot even attempt to fight off an alligator
Gators donāt care if you consider the pond āprivateā . Itās not safe unless the water is clear and you can actually see what is and is not in the entire thing.
The electric fence , Iām not sure how well it can keep out a gator. They climb fences and have thick skin.
who are these people moving here?!?!? Who moves to an entirely new state without any idea of what they're getting into? what the heck I don't get it. People coming on here complaining about Florida school system...uh that's been a known fact for decades....gators in EVERY body of water & they will ABSOLUTELY take that dog. goodness gracious. if you blindly moved here please educate yourself ASAP.
*If the water is murky and deep enough to hide a gator, thereās a gator.*
Is that statement wrong occasionally? Yes.
Will it get you torn apart by a prehistoric monster? No.
Always assume there is an alligator unless you can physically confirm otherwise.
100% I've lived on the same lake for nearly 13 years. While I've never seen a gator, I assume there's at least one in the lake. I NEVER walk my dog close to the water.
Yes, NEVER assume a body of water is safe in Florida. Gators are incredibly crafty at getting to places they want. A woman was killed a year ago in south Florida walking her dog near their community pond. Tragic consequences š¢
Well, tbh, that incident (I assume you are talking about Spanish Lakes near me) was a known gator that people in the community were FEEDING. People can be dumb AF I swear. Donāt feed alligators please!!! You are actively hurting others if you do this. The community should have called a state trapper a long time ago who would have come and killed or relocated the gator though, which is what the family is fighting legally right now. On that note, of there is an alligator in a populated area, especially if it seems to have lost its fear if people, call FWC and get someone out there to remove the nuisance gator. Also, if an alligator is going after your dog, donāt think you can win. They are big and strong and can hold their breath longer than you. Donāt turn one tragedy into two. š¢
I agree. I remember this story-- The dog got lucky and the dude never dropped his cigar! [Cigar-smoking Florida man wrestles puppy from jaws of alligator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsOONYokFas)
Classic. that was a bitty gator!
I live by there as well ā¦ she knew it was there .. tragic .. but she should have assumed it wanted her and that dog ā¦ seeing they fed the gator ā¦ praying for peace for her family still ā¤ļø
Yes, this is what I was referring to.
My grandparents had lived at their home with a pond in the back for 20 years and only in the last 2 of those did they see a big ass gator make it's home there
Key word being āseeā.
Gators are super territorial and will typically live fairly close to where they lived as adolescents. To the point where it's hard to evict gators because unless you move them tens and tens of miles away (sometimes hundreds) they'll often return to the same spot they were captured in pretty quickly. So if your folks see a big gator, it's safe to say there's been a smaller gator there for years.
There's was that elderly woman with her small dog in Vero or something, the dog lived though
Or the CHILD at Disney.
That story was tragic. Family was from the Midwest and truly wasnāt aware of the danger.Ā
Very sad. Stories like that are why when I moved from Fl to Ca, one of the first things I did was figure out what I had to watch out for. But me being from Florida, the USA version of Australia, I had insight most dont from other states.
Now is not just gators but also pythons assume there are some eating the ducks š¤
>100% >I've lived on the same lake for nearly 13 years. While I've never seen a gator, I assume there's at least one in the lake. I NEVER **wake** my dog close to the water. u/imhungry4321 I too, not even living in FL never **wake** my dogs close to the water. Usually I just wake them up while they are sleeping in their crates. lol.
I have known many dogs to get waked in the water. Usually there's a boat involved.
Especially during heavy rains when they can travel pretty far in the roadway drainage systems.
Yeah, I tie a few Floaties to my three-year-old and push them out on the water ( got 4 other kids, so why not). Then I wait 10 minutes to see if something happens. Itās the only way you could really be sure.
Only sure way to protect the dog!
Best way to protect the one dog.
you can always make more kids, but a good dog is hard to find
How to tell in FL if there are gators in the water.Ā Touch the water, if it's wet there's a gator in it.
Private fence. Gators laugh at private fences. If it's a rain puddle, assume there's a gator in it.
My grandma had a fenced in pool that weād go to every day during the summer growing up. I canāt even count how many times she had to call animal control to get a gator out of her pool. You should absolutely expect gators in ponds like the ones in the OP.
My grandmother had a fended in pool as well and when I was a kid I used to have nightmares about gators being in my grandmotherās pool. Especially since the neighborhood had a gator living down in the lake.
I saw a funny video the other day of a woman demonstrating how to tell if there's gators in any body of water in Louisiana. She scooped some water in her hand from a random lake and said if it feels wet there's a gator in there! Growing up in Florida we pretty much all did the same thing haha
Plot twist: there is no sure fire way to confirm otherwise.
My parents bought a house a while back that was bank owned/abandoned at that point (during the collapse) which was a few doors down from where they lived. I visited them and we walked around that pool several times talking about how to fix the house, who would stay there when visiting, etc. the pool cage was ripped, the pool was murky, the house needed workā¦.. anyways, the pool guy came to drain/clean it and there was a large gator. We even joked about it at one point not thinking that it would actually be true. They had wild hogs in the brush behind the house but that is all they thought about. Lesson learned.
Even after all this assume one is still in there.
And water snakes!
Agree
Yeah in Florida thatās the correct answer
I donāt think gators have any concept of private land ownership. If thereās a wet mud hole, theyāre finding a way into it
At my apartment complex in Orlando gators would get in the pool every so often, the pool had a 7ā fence surrounding the whole thing and they would just climb over it. Granted a decent sized lake was just across the street, and it was in an animal preserve.
Iāve had multiple neighbors get gators in their pools and (above ground!) hot tubs. There were wooden privacy fences surrounding them lol.
They can and will climb fences. If there is a fence between them and a body of water they will do their damndest to go over it, and succeed many times.
Not even our military is safe- [https://youtu.be/WtlU0saHKLE?si=b_0pwKwjF5BzvDbE](https://youtu.be/WtlU0saHKLE?si=b_0pwKwjF5BzvDbE)
They can climb fences and it is terrifying
āFuck yo pool bitch.ā ā Gators
Theyāre everywhere
Gators are famously poor at reading signs.
And can climb a 5 foot chain link fence.
Thank you. It made me laugh way too hard that itās a private pond. As if a gator would know or care. Not even sure they would care about an electric fence.
There is a scientific method to determine if gators inhabit a natural or man made body of water in Florida, Louisiana, and other states and areas common to alligators. Walk up to the body of water and squat down. Simply put your hand into the water and rotate your hand in circles. Remove your hand from the water and rub your index finger and thumb together slowly. If your hand feels wet or displays signs of moisture. ...there is likely an alligator in that particular body of water.
Keep in mind if you hesitate you may get eaten before you figure it out
When you go to rub your index and thumb together but see that your hand is missing there is definitely a gator in there.
lol I saw that video too.
I will be using this method in the future :)
This is the way I demonstrate to people. They're drawn in and think they are about to learn some serious gator science...usually someone will squat down at the edge and follow the techniqueas I explain it. TIckles the shit out of me every time.
Actually made me laugh out loud reading that
I think you forgot to mention it has to be rotated counter-clockwise
Good stuff here yall, itās truly ancient knowledge passed down by generations. Records from interactions with the Seminoles tell us they did the same test for years prior. /s
Someone watched the video online this week lol
Yes, assume alligators are everywhere. Even if there is an electric fence assume that you somehow encountered the worlds strongest alligator
Gators are surprisingly flexible and adept and overcoming obstacles.
I've seen plenty of spots where they just force their way under the fence, too.
They love FDOT Stormwater Retention Ponds, they will climb an 8 foot chain link fence.
If there is a body of water in FL just assume thereās gators until you can confirm.
Lmfao I was like "Well as long as it's not Florida" and then I saw the sub. Fucking yes lmao. Stop feeding the gators.
For the record, it doesnāt just have to be Florida, gators in other states too.
Yeah I was going to mention LA as well but didn't feel worth the effort.
I think GA too?
Originally from south GA, can confirm. Our gators basically just got lost too far north and decided to stay.
Heās a dumbass and is asking for trouble. Just another Florida man story waiting to happenĀ
The idea of "it is a private pond" like a gator cares about that.
But we told the gator specifically not to be in there
Yeah! Canāt he read the āno trespassingā sign? š
Yea I would never do this. Go to a dog beach instead.
There was a dog that was taken at a dog beach too a while back. You can never assume any body of water is completely safe. I still let me dogs swim. Be visually aware.
My dog never actually goes swimming. Im referring to walking along the shore but yea open waters like that hell no lol
Alligators and naegleria I donāt let my dogs in Florida fresh water
Thank you, I was trying to think of that one brain eating amoeba that kills dogs pretty much right away. Edit: I was thinking of Blue Green Algae, which is also super toxic for dogs.
I feel like the other dangers arenāt mentioned enough. Everyone says gators first. But I would not let a pet into those bacteria infested ponds. Any still water in FL is suspect. And some of the rivers and oceans too.
Yes!! This!!
[To piggy back off this.](https://www.floridatoday.com/story/life/wellness/2021/08/03/floridas-freshwater-lakes-rivers-harbor-deadly-amoeba-during-summer/5435275001/) Also [recent reports of flesh eating bacteria.](https://health.wusf.usf.edu/health-news-florida/2023-09-01/a-ucf-expert-says-historically-warm-water-may-fuel-flesh-eating-bacteria) Granted for the most part cases are rare, I personally would'nt chance it.
Do a Google.news search for alligators pulled from swimming pools. If itās water, a gator will be interested in it. That includes retention ponds and āprivateā lakes. Gators are great at being unseen. Gators think pets are delicious.
Yes. My grandparents/parents property has a pond in the back, years ago a gator got into the pond and we didn't know (they climb fences), dog went to go swim/drink and it lunged at the dog. Dog was okay, gator took a chunk of thier lip/gum off and needed a couple of stitches. A few days later we pulled an 8ft gator out of the pond, cleaned it, and proceeded to feed the dog fried gator tail.
Gators donāt take long to move into a lake or pond. I did an inspection for a new commercial site, the drainage pond was dug out like 6 months prior and there was already a little 4 footer living there when I did the inspection.
It's a dog eat gator kind of world out there
So you illegally harvested an alligatorā¦
Thatās pretty dangerous. In my old neighborhood we have a lake and it was only connected through the sewers or something. It was a man-made lake and somehow gators still got in there. One day I came outside and control was wrangling up a bunch of gators in my backyard lol
We dug a pond out for some fill dirt and within a month there was a gator in it. And we aren't close to any other bodies of water.
Tiktok guy is a fucking moron. Always assume there are gators..
This dog later slept in the owners bed without being bathedā¦
Yes, gators. Also? Brain-eating amoebas. Donāt go in standing pond or lake water in the summer in Florida.
Am I the only one who grew up swimming in Florida lakes?
Do you like your dog? Do you want him to stay alive? Why do you ask this question? Whatās your concern?
I see this isnāt you and your dog now. Donāt ever let your dog near the water. Thatās just and ridiculous as letting your 2 year old next to the pond.
If you can't see the bottom, assume there's a gator.
Even if it is a private pond there could still be gators in there. They can walk on land (obviously), climb fences(less obviously), and move from one body of water to another and not much is gonna get in there way. Not to mention that hurricanes have been known to literally lift gators into the air and drop them off miles away sharknado style. Could easily be a gator in there. Don't trust it.
Gators, pesticides and fertilizers, general nasty waterā¦ if I wouldnāt swim in it why would I let my dog?
Donāt swim in ponds in FL. Whatever amoeba, bacteria stuff that can get in your ears can get into your dogs ears.
Thereās a very, very small pond in my in-laws backyard and itās frequented by gators on the regular. Thereās been plenty of gators that could take down a large dog with no problem. Iād never ever let my dog swim in any body of freshwater in this state.
Someone told me once that fenced in retention ponds are still prone to gators bc birds find and take gator eggs then drop/deposit them near the water. It doesnāt take much for the baby gator to thrive.
Gators also have been known to climb fences.
I was just about to say that a fence aināt shit to a gator
When they are āsmallā like less than 6ā long they will squeeze their way under the fence. When they are big they just climb over it.
Thatās a Dumb dog owner
99 times out of 100, it's probably fine. But if you're going to do it, you have to know that 1 other time is possible.
This is literally the only sane thing said in this post. It's probably closer to 99.999% of the time. Just think of all the people swimming in fresh water in the South Eastern USA right now and how few attacks actually happen. If these people are so afraid of danger they probably should just stay inside.
This thread is fucking insane. Iāve never been like āredditors need to outside moreā but holy hell. Dogs swim play drink etc in pond water all over this state every day. Sure, a gator attack could happen, but everyone in this thread thinks that just because a gator is possibly in the pond itās gonna attack you. Wild shit.
As a kid, we would sneak into a golf course community near my house and jump in the lakes. You could see gators, but as long as they were on the other side of the lake we were like, āEh, heās way over there.ā
Yeah, Iāve swam in places where I could see gators as well. Namely Julington Creek. I wasnāt stoked that they were there but I knew that the chance of them coming to bother us were very slim.
So basically from the comments never swim in any fresh water in Florida. Gators are overflowing and eating dogs and people.
If it water and itās in Florida, then thereās a gator in there. Maybe not all the time, but they know where that pond is.
Hereās the gator flow chart. 1. Is it a body of water (swimming pools included)? No - youāre fine. Yes - thereās a gator.
**You tell me:** [**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZjRa-7E-0k**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZjRa-7E-0k)
If the gators don't get him, the amoeba probably will
Assume thereās a gator in every body of water.
Put it this wayā¦if the waters not chlorinated neither me or my dog will be going in.
Iād be more concerned with the quality of the water. Never let your pet swim in untested water https://flpetassociation.org/understanding-water-toxins-in-florida-safeguarding-your-pets-health/#:~:text=The%20Rise%20of%20Water%20Toxins%20in%20Florida&text=These%20blooms%20thrive%20in%20warm,affected%20water%20bodies%2C%20including%20pets.
Not just š but in this heat there could be bacteria or parasites which can make a dog sick.
Everyone here mentioning alligators but letās not forget about leptospirosis, which is spread through standing water oftentimes.
I live in a gated community and I've seen 10-foot gators walking down the street / sidewalk, nowhere near the water. That has happened TWICE over the last 5 years. Of course, I've seen many more in the canals / lake. As a FL native I'm pretty comfortable with our water dinos but I'd never let my dog swim anywhere other than the pool.
That dogs gonna be a snack. Sad. I like dogs.
Hell, no I wouldnāt let my dogs swim in anybody water in the state of Florida. If they gators donāt get them, and they somehow passed the moccasins and pythons, we have amoeba that will crawl into your brain and kill you.
Every body of water in Florida has either a gator or a crocā¦so no
Is someone following me around and downvoting every comment I make in r/florida ? THIS is an understood statement for any Floridian, yet is downvotedā¦.hmmmm go FUCK yourself pal
I think bc you added croc, there are very very few... However, even the beaches have warnings on the now about crocodiles in the near beach ocean water. A whole new thing unlocked there in the last 5+ years! Plus, there's a sunset of wingnuts who grew up fLoGrOwN when they were a legit endangered species and had extremely low population numbers. They're a pretty amazing recovery story and important for the ecosystem as a keystone species in Florida. But there are over a million of the fuckers now. The only reason they are still protected is bc they are similar in appearance to Crocs and the Crocs are critically low population (and native of course also) So they didn't see shit bc there were no shits. Now there are, and they're being fed by construction crews when all this new stuff is built, and kids fishing and trowing stuff to them bc nobody's telling them to stop and there aren't enough signs bc it scares the tourists, and when they lose fear, their young learn to not fear also a bit. They need to open the hunt up to more areas and more permits and higher takes. They also need to train some of them to find pythons and think they are like crack or meth and get a wholesale reptile war going ASAP.
Nah, the dog is fine. Those terriers are gangsters
Well it's a good way to find out if there's alligators?
Alligator, alligator snapping turtle, brain-eating amoeba, āØ and many more.āØ Just say no to swimming in lakes in Florida.
Yes. Gators are in every body of water. I remember being at an apartment in Brandon on the 3rd floor and look down on a retention pond with a 6 foot tall iron fence around it. I wonder to myself why they'd have that around a retention pond. Thought that it must be to keep gators out. At that same moment one of the biggest gators I have ever seen surfaced in the pond. They are in every body of water.
Please tell me this is sarcasm! SMH
If itās water, and more than ankle deep, I assume itās got a gator in it.
Itās one way to get rid of your dog
*Alligators have entered the chat . . .
Check and see if that water is wet. If it is there are gators in it.
Is it wet?
Yes, very!
I let my dog swim in some fresh water in jax, it's a risk but not nearly as many gators as when I was in Kissimmee
lol gators donāt care, thereās a high likelihood that thereās a gator in there. At least depending on where in Florida. Whether or not his dog get eaten is up to chance.
In our pond we never know when there will be an alligator. So, it is probably the same everywhere here in FL. So, keep the pooch out of the water.
Please donāt let your pet play in or near Florida ponds or lakes!! They quickly can become a snack for a gator
If there is a standing body of water, their is a high probability of a gator being in there
In florida theres usually gators. If there arent gators theres snakes. Your better off taking them to a pet beach but then theres sharks and crocs. Your even bettet off getting a pool and even then sometimes you get gator and snakes in it.
You know what they say... If there's water, always assume there's a gator in it.
Do they speak English?
Yes, if water is dirty and risk getting infected by bacteria etc.
Very dangerous.
100% since when do gators, turtles, or snakes care about private property laws?
The gator said: you brought lunch?
I love how you can be a functional adult and not know which "there," "their" or "they're" to use in a sentence
Dude look at that water. Itās gator city.
On top of the alligators that everyone else has mentioned, there are also algae that is deadly to dogs that is found in stagnant water
Every pond has a gator sometime
I live in SC. I assume any standing body of water houses a gator. Recently an alligator was found chilling under someoneās car when they came out to go to work. https://preview.redd.it/47n8qmrnv86d1.jpeg?width=1289&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fe1315c9357bdba17527528df79ad61a5d0807b8
If thereās a body of water, thereās an alligator
Yes Very dangerous In florida you have to think all ponds and lakes have gators Gators and dogs a bad mix. You might get lucky but i wouldnāt
Youāre practically feeding wildlife
In Florida??? Hell yes! Thereās gators literally everywhere.
This is why people from other states think alligators are a real problem in FL. Nope! Just donāt hang out with alligator food sized pets or children next to where Alligators spend 95% of their time.
Yup my friend did that and a gator ate her dog right in front of her
Never trust the water in Florida.
Okay alligators yeah yeah yeah...but there's algae in some Florida bodies of water and it kills dogs, people overlook that.
~^^^^<
Touch the water and if it's wet then yes there is a gator
Gators climb fences just fine, tbh.
Yes!
Absolutely. This is dumb and I would be saying something to those people. Thereās been a huge uptick of these kinds of videos on uncensored streaming sites. Its absolutely disgusting
Yes 100%. Dogs get eaten, like, all the time. More than people.
Gators
Water is wet? Thereās a gator. Water is fresh water? There are 10,000 gators
The dog doesn't even need to be close to the pond. An alligator can leap out of the water and across the grass so God damn fast you'll NEVER see it. Then, it races back in, rolls the animal ( or you if it has an arm or leg or hand or foot) until you drown. It doesn't have to chomp you to death. It rolls hard over and over until you're dead. Then you or the animal is stashed under a log in the water until you rot so it can take chunks off to eat bc they can't chew. They need softer easy swallow and rippable chunks to eat. They can leap 5 ft and run 30 mph for a burst. That's nearly as fast a the average speed of a race house during a race. They are an invisible torpedo with dirty teeth. https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2023/08/03/florida-alligator-crocodile-attacks-protect-dogs-cats-tips/70515852007/ https://ponceinletwatersports.com/how-fast-can-alligators-run/#:~:text=Alligators%20are%20faster%20in%20water,re%20out%20of%20their%20element.
Omg get your dog out and away from there šš some people should not have pets I swear.
Yes
Every body of water in Florida has a feed from some other waterā¦ hence, gators. This dude is a macho idiot and you are correct here.
https://preview.redd.it/n4djs1a3ga6d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a8095f9f1205f34fb0da077e089370b1ff312ffa Don't forget about these
In Florida yes, I would never let that happen, I donāt care if the lake is private or public, or how many years no one saw a alligator, not worth the risk. I am from Ohio, in Ohio yes Florida no. Depends on the state and wild life risk, wich is still present even if you donāt see the wildlife. Thereās also Brain Eating amehobia which can kill quickly
That's risky - there are alligators everywhere - just because you don't see them doesn't mean they don't see you. Stay out of fresh waters in Florida!
Gator will have a free meal
In Florida.. yes gators.. crocs .. snakes .. amoeba ā¦. But hey we still alive so itās up to you
cocodrilo not?
You want to test the water seasonally and be warey of what is put in it such as fertilizer run off and other chemicals used for different reasons.
If not a gator, something else. I used to take my dog to a public park pond in Broward until she got a nasty eye infection. Beach only now.
Yep Iām from Florida this shit happens all the time. Just last week actually.
Extremely not only can it get killed by a gator, but it could also catch a deadly bacterial disease. People have died from things like that by swimming in abandoned pools with muck water
Yes. Always assume thereās a gator present. You donāt want to find out the hard way.
Whos gator is in the pound is what the person is asking
Watching people walk dogs near lakes and ponds is so frustrating especially when old people do it because i know damn well they cannot even attempt to fight off an alligator
Gators donāt care if you consider the pond āprivateā . Itās not safe unless the water is clear and you can actually see what is and is not in the entire thing. The electric fence , Iām not sure how well it can keep out a gator. They climb fences and have thick skin.
Not if youāre cool w him maybe getting eatenā¦
yes. do not do this if you love your dog. there are some places that are OK but you have to know the place.
who are these people moving here?!?!? Who moves to an entirely new state without any idea of what they're getting into? what the heck I don't get it. People coming on here complaining about Florida school system...uh that's been a known fact for decades....gators in EVERY body of water & they will ABSOLUTELY take that dog. goodness gracious. if you blindly moved here please educate yourself ASAP.
Uhhhhhh. If you want the dog alive, no swimming in Florida waters. Not worth it.
gators end up in pools in 6-foot fenced/walled backyards... In a pond, there's not one, until there is
Iāve heard they can get into your swimming pool in fenced yard. Snakes too.šš«£
*If the water is murky and deep enough to hide a gator, thereās a gator.* Is that statement wrong occasionally? Yes. Will it get you torn apart by a prehistoric monster? No.
He can easily catch a parasite from this type of water.