In a heart-pounding act of bravery, a Florida woman risked her life to save her beloved dog from the jaws of a six-and-a-half-foot alligator during their nightly walk in Tampa.

Kim Spencer and her dog, Kona, were enjoying their evening stroll in the Westwood Lakes neighborhood when the terrifying encounter unfolded.

As they walked near a local lake, Spencer noticed something in the water — and within seconds, it was clear they were in danger.

“I saw the eyes. I saw it turning itself around towards us, and I started pulling Kona away, saying, ‘Let’s go.’ But she’s a really strong dog,” Spencer told FOX 13.

Before Spencer could fully react, the aggressive alligator charged out of the lake and lunged at Kona. The gator clamped down on the dog’s head and shoulder, sparking a frantic fight for survival.

“She’s facing it, it’s facing her, and it suddenly jumped at her and got her,” Spencer recalled.

In a moment of instinct and love, Spencer sprang into action. “[I] jumped on it, straddled it, as ladylike as that is, and was trying to pry its jaws open.”

Despite the immense danger, Spencer managed to free Kona from the gator’s grip.

“We just got lucky because it ran,” she said. “Just as quickly as it ran after us it went right back in the water and I got up and we were out of there.”

Miraculously, both Spencer and Kona survived the encounter.

Though both sustained injuries that required stitches, their wounds were not life-threatening.

Spencer now wears bandages on both hands, and Kona, her eight-year-old rescue pup, is recovering with a protective cone around her neck.

“We’re empty nesters, she’s my baby, so I wasn’t ready to take on that mindset that she’s an animal versus a human,” Spencer said of her motivation to fight off the gator. Her quick thinking and fierce love for her pet likely saved Kona’s life.

Alligator attacks in Florida are rare but not unheard of.

Last September, in Fort Myers — about 120 miles south of Tampa — 84-year-old Dolores Boppel was attacked by a seven-foot, three-inch gator while walking her dog.

The dog was unharmed, but Boppel sustained serious injuries to her leg.

In 2022, Eric Merda lost his arm to an alligator while swimming in Myakka City. He was stranded in the swamp for three days before being rescued.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the state is home to roughly 1.3 million alligators of varying sizes.

The agency reported 11 alligator bites in 2024 and 23 in 2023, one of which was fatal. Most bites result in major injuries.

FWC warns that while alligators are naturally wary of humans, they can become aggressive if people feed them, causing them to lose their fear. The creatures typically prefer easy prey they can overpower.

Spencer’s fearless rescue stands as a reminder of the wild nature that sometimes lurks in Florida’s scenic neighborhoods — and the fierce love people can have for their pets.

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