Even Florida Dog can’t escape the Florida Man headlines
You can’t escape the Florida Man memes. Even states outside of Florida can’t escape him. What makes Florida dogs think they can escape Florida Man? He’s found a way to affect their canine lives too – quite a few ways in fact.
While human-on-human Florida Man stories are already pretty wild, we’d say these Florida Dog stories are equally nuts. Have you ever heard of someone holding a dog for ransom or a revolver-wielding puppy? We hadn’t either until we read these news stories. Get a load of these Florida Man headlines.
Not ‘round these parts
When this senior citizen’s pet was threatened by a gator he essentially told the gator not today, buddy. Richard Wilbanks was walking his dog Gunner around a pond near his retirement home in Estero, Florida when an unfriendly critter decided to join their stroll.
“It came out of the water like a missile,” said Wilbanks. “I never thought an alligator could be that fast. It was so quick.”
Without hesitation, Wilbanks dove into the water after his Cavalier King Charles spaniel. It took him a bit to retrieve the alligator, which now had Gunner in its jaws, from the pond. Footage from the Florida Wildlife Federation fSTOP Foundation documented the wildlife encounter of this heroic Florida Man.
Wilbanks spent some time prying Gunner from the alligator’s mouth. You wouldn’t think it was such a distressing situation to have your dog snatched up by an alligator looking at the video of Wilbanks. The 74-year-old seems as cool as a cucumber while he rescues his pet. The cigar in his mouth never wavers, even after he dives into the water.
Surprisingly, Wilbanks doesn’t wish for the alligator to be removed. “They’re part of nature and part of our lives,” explained Wilbanks. He’s content with walking Gunner on a leash and a safe distance away from the pond from now on. Gunner suffered no serious injuries, only a small puncture wound to his stomach. His heroic owner however emerged from the encounter with “chewed up” hands.
It’s a man-bite-dog world out there
Locals in North Florida called law enforcement after they spotted Donald Watts roaming around at night with a flashlight. When police arrived on the scene they found Watts naked in a ditch mimicking bird calls.
Watts was not very keen on being smoked out by police officers and their police dog. He allegedly dropped on all fours to meet the K-9 face-to-face. You may be thinking what an unusual thing that is for someone to do, and you would be right. The reason for Watts’s fearlessness and strange behavior is that he was high on methamphetamine. Watts bit the police dog on the ear to which the dog responded by biting Watts on the head.
Watts then fled & hid under a mobile home. It took awhile for the police officers to lure Watts out of his hiding place and even then he continued resisting arrest. Despite being stun-gunned several times Watts repeatedly assaulted one of the officers.
Once half a dozen cops were called to the scene Watts was finally apprehended. He was taken to hospital before heading to county jail. Did we mention this all took place in High Springs, Florida? We know, super ironic.
How much do you value your dog’s life?
One poor Florida pup was held for ransom. Not many dogs can boast such a horrible experience although it’s possible she didn’t really grasp enough about the situation to be afraid. Considering everything her captor was threatening, she should have been though.
A man named Jeffrey Parris burglarized a home and decided to hold the homeowner’s pet for ransom. After stealing two hand guns, $15,000 in cash, and a Louis Vuitton sweatshirt & pair of shoes, Parris texted his victim that he would only return his dog if he forked over $20,000.
The victim contacted authorities who eventually succeeded in tracking Parris down. Over the course of the dog’s capture Parris sent threatening text messages like this one: “will I be playing when I blow the back of her head off with your glock.”
Parris is now in jail and being charged with armed burglary of a dwelling, grand theft, extortion, grand theft of a firearm, unlawful use of a two-way communication device and a convicted felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition.
It was truly self defense
One puppy accidentally saved its own hide when his owner pulled out a .38 caliber revolver intending to take its life. The Florida Man named Jerry Allen Bradford had decided to put down all seven of his shepherd mix puppies by shooting them in the head after failing to find them a home.
Bradford had already shot and buried three of the puppy’s siblings when the surprising incident happened. The pup was three months old and wriggling in Bradford’s hand. In an act of fate, the puppy’s paw nudged the trigger of the revolver and shot Bradford in the wrist. The remaining four puppies were retrieved by police deputies while Bradbury was in the hospital and the puppies were put up for adoption.
