He pulled the dog from the alligator’s mouth. He didn’t even let the cigar out of his mouth

Two things can be said about Richard Wilbanks: he loves his dog and his cigars. Media all over the world publish a video showing a Florida resident in the US pulling his pet out of … an alligator’s jaws. The man did not release the cigar in his mouth.

Richard Wilbanks, 74, has been living in Estero, Florida since his retirement. He has a small pet, Gunner, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

That day he was on a walk with him when suddenly an alligator threw itself on a pooch crossing the pond, grabbed its prey in the mouth and dragged it into the water.

This moment was captured by Richard’s friend Louise who was accompanying them with her phone.

The recording she published is dramatic.

In the video, you can see the man throwing himself under the water, catching a small alligator, struggling with it, then he manages to open the reptile’s jaws and free the dog.

In the background you can hear the screeching of a terrified Gunner.

And Richard doesn’t let his cigar out of his mouth the whole time.

It fell out of the water like a missile. I never thought an alligator could be this fast. It was a moment moment – he said in an interview with CNN.

He added that Gunner was very lucky. It turned out that he only had minor wounds on his stomach. His hands, however, after a struggle with an alligator, look – as he put it – chewed.

After this adventure, his pet stays at least three meters away from the edge of the pond during walks.

Richard does not want veterinary services to remove the reptile. As he says, it is “part of nature and our life”.