Fort Myers couple stunned as gator breaks into their dining room

A Fort Myers couple received the shock of their lives when an unexpected visitor slithered into their home.

Paul Quinn was taken aback when he discovered an alligator had broken through the front door screen and made its way into his dining room.

“It’s a Sunday morning, and I got an alligator in my house?” said Quinn.

Quinn first noticed something amiss when he saw the screen door was damaged.

“I got up from the chair, and I could see the door; there was something wrong with the screen. I’m like, what happened?” said Quinn.

The six-and-a-half-foot gator had found its way inside and was making itself at home.

“As I’m coming around here, I hear an air noise, like a HISSSSS,” said Quinn.

Meanwhile, his wife, Mary Jo, was driving home when she received a startling text message from a neighbor.

“A picture of an alligator nested in the corner of my dining room. So that made me panic,” said Mary Jo.

She immediately called her husband, who was already dealing with the situation.

“I called my husband, and my husband answered the phone. I can’t talk right now. I sent you a bunch of a bunch of pictures,” she said.

Paul Quinn’s first call for help was to 911.

After nearly an hour, assistance finally arrived.

A trapper from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission arrived and managed to corner the alligator.

“He got hold of the alligator by the neck, wrapped it around there a couple of times,” said Quinn.

Mary Jo described the struggle that ensued.

“That alligator was fighting him and his tail—his body just swiped my baseboards. Swiped my baseboards,” she said.

The incident concluded with the gator being safely removed, but not before leaving its mark on the Quinns’ dining room.

“He bit this chair, and he had it in his mouth, and he was swinging it around,” said Quinn.

Despite the damage, the couple plans to keep the chair as a memento.

“We’re gonna keep all those bite marks on that chair. It’s gonna go back here, and then when it’ll be a conversation piece,” said Quinn.