74-Year-Old Florida Woman Gets Bitten by Alligator While Trying to Save Her Dog From Its Jaws

A 74-year-old Florida woman was left with a bite and an emotional trauma after she was attacked by an alligator while saving her dog during their evening stroll.

As a part of their daily routine, most dog owners in the state of Florida usually do evening walks with their pets before the sun sets. However, this routine turned into a nightmare for an elderly woman after her encounter with an alligator.

Florida Woman Saves Dog From Alligator Attack

According to Local 10, Suzan Marciano was walking her Golden Retriever mix named Nalu near a lake at Burt Aaronson Park in the western portion of Boca Raton on August 24 when an alligator attacked her and her dog.

The Palm Beach Post reported that the Florida woman took her dog off the leash during their routine and played fetch with Nalu using a stick when the dog ran into the water. A six-foot-long alligator then suddenly appeared and attacked the dog.

From where the 74-year-old woman stood, she reportedly only seen clear and shallow water. But when Marciano crept closer to the water, she was struck with horror.

It turned out the dark shadow that she noticed on the clear water was an alligator that was estimated to measure six feet or longer.

After seeing the alligator, the animal quickly gripped the dog in its massive jaws. But instead of running, Suzan Marciano fought back, saving her dog from the alligator.

"I wasn't thinking. I did the only thing I could do. I came down on the alligator with all my weight," the Florida woman told the Palm Beach Post.

Marciano thought that she managed to spook the alligator when it released Nalu. But the alligator suddenly turned and sunk its teeth into Marciano's hand.

Survivors of Alligator Attack

As Suzan Marciano fought back, she and Nalu have managed to run out of the water and went onto a trail around the lake.

"Providence must have been with me. It was all one big blur. I was in such shock. I didn't feel any pain," Marciano noted.

On the way back to her car, Marciano cried and saw blood poured from a puncture wound in the middle of her palm. Her friend convinced her to go to the hospital to get some medical attention.

The Florida woman received five stitches at the Baptist Health Urgent Care after her hand was soaked in a tub of iodine.

When Marciano returned home at Boca Raton, she took Nalu to an animal emergency clinic where the dog went into surgery for two hours. Both the Florida woman and the dog are slowly making full recoveries after surviving the alligator attack.

Meanwhile, officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said they could not locate the alligator after the attack.

An incident report revealed that an officer from the FWC and a park ranger checked the area to conduct an investigation. However, they could not determine where the alligator attack happened, and neither of them observed any alligators in the lake.

READ MORE: 2 Rare Albino Alligators Born at a Florida Zoo

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: 75-Year-Old Florida Man Fights Off Alligator, Saves Dog - From ABC Action News