Adriana Salcedo has lost her four-legged friend. Tuesday night, a crocodile ate her Jack Russell, named Lucas. "I mean, he's gone and it's horrible. The way he died was horrible. He was like, kept him in his mouth for two hours. It was horrible."
The attack happened at a canal next to Taragona Drive. Salcedo's uncle, Wadi Romano, was dog-sitting Lucas and watched the croc drag the dog into the water. "It's very terrible to see part of your family, you know, eaten by a crocodile."
The water in the canal is calm now, but Tuesday night, that wasn't the case. Even an hour after the attack, witnesses and police still see the croc in this canal carrying around the dog's body. "We see him with the dog in his mouth. They, they say the dog is too big to eat it right away," says Wadi Romano.
This isn't the first time there have been crocodile concerns in Coral Gables. In 2007, this crocodile killed a dog. In 2004, crocodiles moved into the University of Miami campus.
Adriana Salcedo wants the crocodile that killed her Lucas to be trapped and removed. Right now, a Florida fish and wildlife biologist is reviewing Lucas' death. The biologist will decide if the croc will be pulled from this water.
In the meantime, Coral Gables police are going door-to-door around the canal.
Officer Kelly Denham says "People of this community, in South Florida, need to be aware that this just didn't happen in Coral Gables. It can happen in any canal in South Florida."
Police are making sure everyone here takes crocodile precautions. Officers don't want to see another dog make this a watery grave. "Keep your dog on a leash. Keep it on the roadway. Keep it away from the water," says Denham.
