Sorry I never posted the end of the story....just been an extremely busy season for us and havent been able to have much "LB time".
Thanks Marty, yes the gator story ended happily ever after. I was actually going to go to the sanctuary on our way home from the cruise line yesterday to see him but was feeling terribly home, horse and dog sick the last couple days on the cruise and wanted nothing more than to rush right home to see the fur kids!!
The gator ended up in a sanctuary for other gators that once lived in captivity. Its not a zoo but more of a rehabilitation sanctuary where the smaller ones are sometimes released into the Everglades but some, unfortunatly, can never be released. Its not a real fancy place and is not open to the public but they do allow students in to study them as part of their ciriculum....it is privately owned. I was very impressed talking to the people when they came to get him, very professional and knowledgable....the gator was not as big as we had thought ( I think his open mouth just made him appear dino size...at least to me!! He measured 7ft 8". They said he was alittle overweight ( which I guess is common w/wild animals raised in captivity ) and he had a fair amount of parasites on his feet which the man attributed to the sandy soil in the back yard and he said they will die off once he gets in a different inviroment. All in all, they thought he was in good shape. They did tape his mouth but not his feet and they brought with them this mud like stuff and coated his body with it for the couple hour ride back to his new home. Get this...they picked him up in one of those new fancy Cadillac fancy trucks with a bed on the back...cant remember the actual name of them...I just know that I have never stepped foot in one and I know I could never afford one. So it was almost like he took a limo ride to his new home...lucky gator!!
My friends are doing great but Im sure they do miss their old friend. I know they just got a couple of pallets of sod and plan on reclaiming their back yard this summer....and finally get to enjoy their pool and not have to share it!! Its funny I tease her still when she takes food home from our catering company....now I know shes making soup for herself and not flinging it out the crack in the back door!!!
Well I gotta run and hug, throw the tennis ball to the dogs and give treats to the horses.....missed them all so much last week. Will tell you about my cruise later.....lets just say, Dolphins, Sea Turtles and StingRays and never ending food buffets were wonderful but Dorothy said it right " There Is NO Place Like Home!!
