A man in Deltona, Fla., let his dog, Winston, a chocolate Labrador, out into the backyard as usual around dinnertime on March 5. He saw Winston behaving a little differently than usual, however, so he went out to see what the dog was so interested in. The homeowner saw an alligator at the same moment the alligator noticed the dog, and they both lunged forward, with the alligator clamping down on Winston’s head. The man shot the alligator four times in the skull, killing it. “My heart just dropped, and I was like, ‘Okay, I have to go do something,’” the homeowner told reporters. “So, I mean, you just spring into action and do what you have to do to save your dog. Twenty seconds later, probably would’ve had a dead dog.” Winston suffered only a puncture wound to the ear, and no charges were brought against the quick-acting homeowner. (fox35orlando.com, Deltona, Fla., 1/8/23; clickorlando.com, Orlando, Fla., 1/9/23)
Just after 1 a.m. on March 5, a homeowner in Chicago, Ill., heard his dog start barking, then a noise in his basement. He retrieved his firearm and went to investigate, reportedly coming face-to-face with an intruder. The armed citizen shot the intruder when he began to move toward him, striking him in the arm. The 27-year-old intruder was charged with a felony count of burglary. (cbsnews.com, Chicago, Ill., 1/5/23)
