As kids watch, alligator kills puppy in Seminole

By KRISTINE MILLEN

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 14, 2000

SEMINOLE -- When 15-year-old Cassandra Callaway and her two younger sisters took off after their 7 1/2-month-old Dalmatian puppy, Sandi, the recent transplants from Virginia had no idea what danger lay ahead.

The dog darted through an opened screen door Monday evening and trotted through Sailwinds Apartment complex to the shore of Lake Seminole. The 46-pound dog then romped into the water in pursuit of a half-dozen Muscovy ducks.

Standing on a wooden dock yelling "Sandi! Sandi!" the three girls watched as their spotted puppy followed the ducks farther into the lake.

They watched as a large alligator slowly swam toward the dog. Cassandra tried to get Sandi's attention by throwing sticks into the water.

Sandi didn't notice the sticks.

The gator sped up.

Cassandra cradled her 4-year-old sister Rebecca against her shoulder and put her hand over her younger sister's eyes.

The alligator "opened its mouth, snapped on (Sandi) and pulled her under," said Cassandra. "I don't think she ever saw it coming.

"When I first saw the alligator, it didn't seem interested," she said. "But when it sped up, you could tell it was going to get something -- and it wasn't a duck. I really thought Sandi was going to come back out of the water."

Ken Scibelli, a neighbor who saw the alligator before the attack, said it was 10 to 12 feet long.

"There were actually two alligators out there," he said. "One stayed near the dock and the other one was clear in the middle of the lake. That's the one that made its way over to the dog. When I saw that, I immediately knew what was going to happen. I told my wife, "I can't watch this,' and headed back inside."

The Callaways, who also own a small, white dog named Wishbone, moved to Sailwinds Apartments in March from Dale City, Va., where they are staying until the home they are building in Largo is completed.

The girls' mother, Valerie Callaway, 35, purchased Sandi in December from a Dalmatian Rescue chapter in Canton, Ohio, as a special Christmas gift for Rebecca, a fan of Disney's 101 Dalmatians.

Mrs. Callaway set the puppy, clad in an apple-red collar with a pink, heart-shaped tag bearing her name, in a cage under the family Christmas tree. The moment she laid eyes on Sandi, who was wagging her tail earnestly, Rebecca was smitten, Mrs. Callaway said.

"We are devastated," she said. "We don't have alligators in Virginia."

Mrs. Callaway, who recently retired from the Army, and her husband, Joseph, who works for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, were not home during the attack. The couple, who were having dinner at a Mexican restaurant, had called home to check on the girls minutes before the attack. About 5 minutes later, Cassandra called her parents on their mobile phone to deliver the bad news.

Gary Morse, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said the alligator will be removed from the area and destroyed.

"That's a problem alligator," he said. "It may have lost its fear of people and that's a chance we don't take. The incident could and probably would occur again. Other dogs or small children might become prey items because of their relative size."

Morse said his agency, which covers a 13-county region from Hernando to Lee counties, receives an average of 5,500 alligator complaints a year. Complaints range from the reptiles entering swimming pools and carports to pet attacks.

"If you're going to be living on Lake Seminole, you're going to be living with alligators," he said. "That's part of the charm of living in Florida, having all the wonderful wildlife. Alligators are an integral part of our ecosystem and we need to learn to live with them."

The Callaways plan to seek grief counseling for their two youngest daughters. In the meantime, their father made an early morning trip to McDonald's, where he purchased Happy Meals complete with small Beanie Baby Dalmatians named Dotty.

"We're used to movies," said Mrs. Callaway. "This is reality. Welcome to Florida."

For help

If you encounter an alligator that poses a threat to humans, pets, livestock or property, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at (800) 282-8002.

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