Del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
StumbleUponWhatta Croc
When the cops arrived at the house in Cleveland on the fifth of May this year, they already knew about the drug dealers, the dope and the guns. What they weren't expecting was the alligator guarding the place.It was "only" a three-and-a-half footer -- a baby -- that probably wasn't even able to do "much" harm, insisted John Baird, the man who hauled off the dino-wannabe. He removed it in the rubber tub in which he found it and brought it to an animal preserve.
Baird is a dog warden, and if he sounds blasé it's because he's seeing more and more rare species of animals, many kept by drug dealers whose newfound wealth has given them exotic tastes in everything from cars to pets. Although going nose-to-snout with a gator should have a deterrent effect, these animals are not generally used for guard duty. That role is reserved for another animal.
It's four in the morning, a few years back. Baird's inside a house that's been emptied of drug dealers. He and a cop are leaning into a bedroom door, praying that the six snarling, testosterone-oozing pit bulls on the other side don't break through. Even with 26 years on the job, the situation has John scared. If we open the door even a crack, he thinks, they'll overpower us.
The men arm themselves with the tools of the trade: a long pole with a loop on the end, which they'll use to lasso the dogs, and a can of Mace.
Baird signals he's ready. The cop slowly turns the doorknob, and instantly, the door pushes out as a collective 360 pounds of pure dog lunges for the men. The cop puts his weight against the door, buying time for John, who finagles the pole through the tangle of heaving bodies and slips the lasso around the neck of the lead dog. Like an expert angler, he yanks him up and out of the bedroom. The cop beats back the others with the Mace can and slams the door in their faces. Already worn out, they get to repeat this five more times. All in all, it will take five hours to remove the dogs.
The job isn't all heart-in-throat. Among the calls he's responded to was the one about a sand crane running around town after fleeing the zoo. And then there was the goat at the bus stop, waiting with the other commuters.
"It's never boring," he cackles.
Advertisement 
Your Comments
See all
...