Man performs CPR on his dog after alligator attack

[November 06, 2010]  TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- A Florida man shot at an alligator to free his dog from its jaws.

Tom Martino said he and his Jack Russell terrier Lizabeth were walking along the Hillsborough River in Tampa on Thursday when the alligator wrestled the 15-pound dog into the water.

Martino started shooting into the water around the alligator to scare it into releasing the 9-year-old dog. He performed CPR on the dog until it coughed up water and started breathing again.

Lizabeth was being treated for alligator bites and lung injuries from being underwater.

A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trapper captured the 5- to 6-foot alligator Thursday night.

Martino has a concealed weapons permit.

[Associated Press]

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