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Man Rescues Nearly 9-Foot Gator from Parkland Pool

“He didn’t really give me a hassle at all, it was basically as smooth and easy as it ever gets," Paul Bedard said

It seems Florida residents aren’t the only ones making use of their pools to cool off from the heat.

On Instagram, gator rescuer Paul Bedard shared a picture with an almost 9-foot alligator he caught in a Parkland resident’s pool Tuesday.

The gator had made its way through the pool screen enclosure and into the water.

Bedard wrote in the post’s caption that with pool rescues, he usually tries to “play around” with the gator in the water until they’re tired, to prevent them from biting or slamming into the concrete and hurting themselves on the way out.

In this case, Bedard wrote, the gator was “super mellow,” and allowed himself to be caught and taped up from the front. After some water play to drain the animal’s energy, he was safely carried out.

“He didn’t really give me a hassle at all, it was basically as smooth and easy as it ever gets. Thank you Lord, much appreciated,” wrote Bedard. The gator turned out to be 8 feet, 8 inches long.

Bedard and his coworker Gabby Scampone are known as the “Gator Boys,” rescuing alligators from Florida backyards, swimming pools, garages and even bedrooms. According to their website, the captured animals are taken to Everglades Holiday Park.

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