Dog hailed hero after saving family from large alligator

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – George Woods was home in Coral Springs when he heard Freckles, his dog, was barking nonstop just before dawn. 

Coral Springs residents are about a two-hour walk away from the Everglades Wildlife Management Area. This is why it's not unusual for alligators to come knocking.

Woods said he wasn't expecting a 7-foot, 8-inch gator to be three feet away from his door. 

"It really wasn't a sense of fright," he said. "It was more like a shock." 

Woods called police, who summoned the Gator Boys professional trappers. It took them about six minutes to secure the gator. 

Woods felt grateful for Freckles and hailed him a hero. Without his warning, his wife could have been the one to stumble upon the creature in the dark after work.