LAKELAND, Fla. – Just in time for Christmas, a Florida woman has been told she'll get to keep her pet alligator.
Mary Thorn told WFTS, the ABC affiliate in Tampa, that she was given permission by state wildlife officials to keep her unusual companion.
"He's family," Thorn told the station. "I love him like my family."
Thorn has been fighting the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for almost a year to keep Rambo in her home.
Rambo is a 6-foot-long gator that wears clothes, rides on the back of a motorcycle and has a bedroom in Thorn's Lakeland home. State law requires an alligator of that size to live on properties with at least 2.5 acres of land.
However, FWC officials recently allowed Thorn to keep Rambo, provided that she meets certain conditions. One of them prohibits her from showcasing Rambo in public.
Thorn said Rambo has made numerous public appearances at charities and conservation classes.
Still, Thorn is just thankful to be spending Christmas with Rambo.