A six-month-old rescued mixed breed puppy lost its leg after being dragged into the floodwaters by an alligator in Merritt Island, Florida.
Fortunately Chloe managed to survive the deadly attack, which occurred September 26, as her owner Jo Ellen Kleinhenz came outside just in time.
Kleinhenz said Chloe was playing outside in the backyard but then she heard a ‘terrible yelping noise, just this awful, awful sound,’ reported Click Orlando.
Chloe (pictured above) lost her leg after being dragged by an alligator into the murky waters in Merritt Island, Florida in September
Apparently once Kleinhenz went outside to see what all the commotion was about, she saw Chloe clinging onto a branch as the reptile tried to drag her into the murky floodwaters bordering the Ulumay Wildlife Sanctuary.
After lots of tugging the alligator finally gave up and disappeared beneath the water. Chloe however was left with some potentially fatal injuries.
‘I’ve never done surgery for an alligator bite before,’ said Dr Elizabeth Chosa of Courtenay Animal Hospital. ‘Most dogs that are attacked by an alligator don’t survive. So Chloe’s pretty unique in that way.’
Jo Ellen Kleinhenz (pictured with Chloe) said she went outside to her backyard after hearing a ‘terrible yelping noise’
‘She had a penetrating abdominal wound, so I think the gator had originally bitten her in the stomach and pulled her down.’
‘She had a crushing injury – penetrating wounds and broken bones – in her back left foot. And she had a few other bite wounds on her left shoulder,’ Chosa added.
Apparently Chloe’s stomach ‘was full of swamp water. Her lungs were full of swamp water.’
Chosa wasn’t sure if the puppy would survive the first 24 hours due to the excess amount of water in her system and fear of her drowning.
Apparently Chloe has been so strong through everything, she’s pictured here walking on her three legs after her left back leg was amputated
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Chloe (above) – who is a rescue breed and six-months-old – $5,000 is their goal and they’ve already reached over $3,500
‘Once I opened her abdomen, I had to cut open her stomach and remove a bunch of sticks and leaves because she had held onto the branch with her mouth while the gator was biting her. She had chomped over and over on this branch.’
Chloe had to undergo four-and-a-half hours of surgery at the Merritt Island animal hospital – overall she had four surgeries in just two weeks.
Doctors made the choice to amputate her back left leg.
Apparently Chloe (above) is now doing amazingly well – in a video you can see the happy pup joyfully running along with her three legs
Apparently she’s now doing amazingly well – in a video you can see the happy pup joyfully running along with her three legs.
‘She’s such a survivor. She’s so strong,’ Kleinhenz said.
Chosa said whenever Chloe sees her she’s over the moon and excited: ‘I feel like if everybody in the world had the same attitude that Chloe has, the world would be a better place,’ she stated.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Chloe with $5,000 being their goal – they’ve already reached over $3,500.
Pictured here is an alligator in a waterway at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge