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Article Courtesy of FOX 4
By Karl Fortier
Published June 29, 2018
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IMMOKALEE, Fla. - An Immokalee family said their dog was killed by an alligator
in the pond behind their home. They want a trapper to remove the gator, but
their homeowners' association has yet to authorize it.
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Katherine Akkoul said their husky, named
Mekah, was a loving companion to her four-year-old daughter
and two-year-old son. But Mekah got out of the house over
the weekend and evidently got too close to the pond, where
the alligator was waiting. Katherine and her husband saw it
thrashing around in the water.
"My husband went over to investigate, and it was our
9-month-old puppy that the alligator was ripping to pieces,"
Akkoul said. "It was pretty horrific...just painful."
With the alligator still lurking near their home, Akkoul is
concerned for the safety of her young children. She wants
the HOA for her neighborhood, Arrowhead Reserve off of Lake
Trafford Road, to get the gator away from their home.
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"I've called my HOA several times, and I always have an
issue getting through to them," Akkoul said. "I live in a community that I
pay money to have maintained, and that includes our waterways, especially if
we have children and pets."
Fox 4 reached out to the HOA to see if there was any way to get a trapper to
remove the nuisance gator. A representative said they were waiting to hear
back from the HOA's board, but otherwise could only say "no comment."
"I think it is the HOA's responsibility to make sure that (an alligator
trapper) is getting out here," Akkoul said.
Florida Fish and Wildlife's Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program, or SNAP,
removed 8,455 nuisance alligators in 2017. They must first have permission
from the property owner or management authority to do so, however.
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