April 08, 2008 05:45 pm
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A 6 1/2-foot-long alligator that called a Carthage basement home for the last several years, is now at the Carthage Humane Society waiting for a new home after its owner died Monday.
Carthage Animal Control officer Justin Butler was called to the house about 9 a.m. Monday to remove an American Alligator from the basement. The animal was so large, the officer called in two reptile specialists from the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield.
The specialists blindfolded the animal, then taped its mouth shut and carried it out. The alligator, dubbed “Wally” by the humane society staff, is being housed in a makeshift cage at the annexed building next door to the shelter, currently called “the gator barn.”
“It’s definitely something different that I’ve never come across before,” Justin Butler said. “I’ve seen snakes and peacocks and horses, but never a gator. I’m ready for somebody to call me now with an elephant in their backyard.”
David Butler, manager of the Carthage shelter, said the humane society and police department are working together to find a permanent home for the alligator. He said the gator should be gone by the end of the week.
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