Dog alerts couple to 5-foot alligator in their home

A couple in Louisiana thought that a burglar had broken into their home when they were awakened in the middle of the night by their dog — only to find a scaly 5-foot intruder in their hallway.

Don and Jan Schultz had just moved from Arizona to New Iberia, Louisiana, and last week were treated to what they jokingly called “the full Cajun experience.”

The couple were asleep late Friday when they were awakened by Panda, their 7-year-old Australian cattle dog.

“Our dog Panda growled a deep throat grumble and woke my wife up and she tapped me said, ‘I think there’s someone in the house,’” Don Schultz told the local station KATC. “And so I got up headed down the hall to check. I saw the shape of an alligator.”

The 5-foot reptile apparently climbed into the Schultz residence through the doggy door.

The homeowners called 911, summoning Wildlife and Fisheries officers who arrived at the house and quickly captured that toothy bandit, which did not go quietly.

Video shot by the Schultzes shows the feisty critter hissing and thrashing about when an officer armed with a catchpole slips a cable loop around its neck.

The alligator was then wrangled by the officer and safely hauled away.

“I guess it’s off swimming in a bayou somewhere.” Jan Schultz said.

The couple said they have learned their lesson from the scary encounter and have bought a doggy door lock that opens only with their pet pooch’s collar to keep away any future “surprise” visitors.