Alligator gives Collier County couple a birthday surprise

Reporter: Lauren Leslie Writer: Matthew Seaver
Published: Updated:
Alligator in a Collier County Garage. (Credit: The Dobsons)

A Collier County couple was met with quite the surprise when they found an alligator in their garage.

Birthday surprises can be thrilling and fun, and in Florida, they can be wild. The Dobsons, who live in the Wyndemere community, got just that when they found a gator in their garage days ahead of a big birthday.

Karyn and her husband Jamie were watching TV on Wednesday night when they heard what they thought was a car accident.

“The crash was so big like wicked,” said Karyn.

“I open the garage door about a quarter way, peek my head in, and there’s the alligator,” said Jamie. “Quickly close the door, ‘Karyn, we have an alligator in our garage,’ something from the midwest I really haven’t experienced before.”

The Dobsons are from the windy city, so a gator in the garage is definitely a first.

“After I finished screaming, she goes, ‘you’ve got to be kidding,'” said Jamie.

“I said, ‘come on, like what are you talking? Give me a break. You’re pulling a fast one,'” said Karyn.

The only fast one was the nearly 8-foot gator. The Dobsons made a quick call to Trapper Ray.

“Open the garage door, you know. The gator starts to back up, mouth is wide open at this point,” said Jamie.

“We’re all standing up there like a scaredy-cat,” Karyn said.

Trapper Ray wrangled the gator, but there was quite the mess when Ray left.

“We’re getting ready for a party. We have cases of soda and everything else,” said Karyn.

The gator’s beverage of choice, “There was Diet Coke spewing everywhere because the gator was interested tore open the box had a few cans probably thought it was beer maybe I don’t know,” said Karyn.

The Dobsons do know to keep the garage closed, so there aren’t any more wild surprises. “People have sent me texts and emails, gator girl, they have all these comments, ‘crikey mate, you know what a great birthday present Karyn.'”

The couple thinks the gator got inside after taking their dog for a walk. Jamie entered the house through the garage and the door was left up. When they put it down, the gator was already inside.

As for the gator, it has been safely relocated.

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