When you look out your kitchen window in the morning the last thing you’d expect to see is an 18-inch alligator in your front yard.
It sounds bizarre but it happened to June Gallo, of Hamden, who lives on Elmer Avenue.
“At first, I thought I was seeing things. It was just sitting there in the driveway,” she told the New Haven Register.
June’s husband, Julius, didn’t believe her story until he saw it for himself. While June called 911, her husband was trying to figure out a way to catch it.
The bravely used a crab net from the garage to corner the alligator as it lurked toward the flower bed outside.
To keep the animal secure, Julius put the recycling bin over it until police and animal control arrived.
“Obviously, someone had it as a pet and it either got away or the person didn’t want it any more,” Sgt. Anthony Diaz, a police spokesman, said.
State Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Dwayne Gardner seems to agree that it was someone’s pet.
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“People don’t realize how fast they grow. They get too big and too dangerous.”
The reptile will eventually be taken to Beverly, Mass., where it will be used for educational purposes with Rainforest Reptile Shows.
