Black Lab Protects Her Family's Ducks from Alligator Attack

Misti Roberts

Beauty isn't an ordinary dog. The black lab from Panama City Beach, Florida, hangs out with a unique crew: her family's three ducks Cress, Downey, and Dot.

"She is just super sweet to them, it's not like you would think with a duck and dog," owner Misti Roberts told WJHG.

Beauty follows her ducks everywhere, so when they waddled into nearby Powell Lake last week, she went with them. She didn't realize there was a hungry eight- to ten-foot alligator at the edge of the lake with its eyes on the ducks.

Roberts said Beauty tried to scare off the gator and was attacked in the processes of protecting the ducks.

"I saw an alligator right at the edge of the sand, not on the sand but right on the edge," Roberts told WJHG.

She called for Beauty and realized she couldn't get up the stairs. "So, I ran down and then obviously there was just blood everywhere and I realized she had been hurt."

The family immediately rushed her to the vet.

"When we first got Beauty here… she was unstable and in shock, she had multiple soft tissue wounds and an obvious leg issue," Dr. Gerrie Barr told the local news station.

"We must be aware that waterfronts around freshwater surfaces can be very threatening at times if you have a hungry gator like this," Barr said. "No one did anything wrong, this is just something we need to be aware of. It doesn't happen every day but when it does it is pretty ugly."

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Beauty underwent surgery to repair a broken femur on Saturday. Barr said he expects a full recovery in six to eight weeks.

She should be back with her ducks soon.

"They are her buddies, there is no question about that," Barr told WJHG. "Give her credit for saving their lives."