TROY, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) -
An alligator on the loose created quite a stir in Troy, Missouri Thursday. The neighbors weren't afraid for their own safety, but for the alligator's. When Ali the alligator wandered away from his home Thursday, there were many concerned citizens. But the concern was that they might lose one of the street's most famous celebrities.
When Troy Police Chief Jeff Taylor received the lost pet call, he found out this was not going to be your routine puppy or kitten rescue, "When the officer arrived on the scene, he was notified that it was a four foot alligator that was missing from the basement of a young lady that used to own a pet store in Troy."
Luckily, Taylor says Ali didn't wander too far from home, "We located him about 150 yards from the home, in a creek, in about four feet of water."
Instead of hiding in their homes, some neighbors helped with the search. Something Ali's owner, who would like to remain anonymous, is very thankful for, "A bunch of the kids, my husband, and some friends. We were out looking for him. We scoured the whole creek."
Ali's owner added, "They all know him, so they were concerned. So they all came out and we had a great time looking for him. And they all love him, if they didn't love him, they wouldn't have come help us find him."
Ali was immediately returned home where he is the star of a reptile show that his owner runs at area schools, churches and birthday parties, "Ali's a pretty popular alligator. He's been around. He's done a lot of shows from here to St. Louis. He's educated a lot of people, giving a lot of people a lot of knowledge about the necessity of alligators and other reptiles."
It seemed as though Ali's owner received the biggest scare from the incident out of anybody, but for a different reason, "I was very concerned because he's been my pet for six years now." She added, "He's very tame. Although he is a wild animal, he's like my dog. I can let him run around the house and not worry about him chasing after anybody because that's not what he does."
Four of Ali's neighbors said they were not scared when they heard he got loose. One even said, "Ali is harmless."
When Troy Police Chief Jeff Taylor received the lost pet call, he found out this was not going to be your routine puppy or kitten rescue, "When the officer arrived on the scene, he was notified that it was a four foot alligator that was missing from the basement of a young lady that used to own a pet store in Troy."
Luckily, Taylor says Ali didn't wander too far from home, "We located him about 150 yards from the home, in a creek, in about four feet of water."
Instead of hiding in their homes, some neighbors helped with the search. Something Ali's owner, who would like to remain anonymous, is very thankful for, "A bunch of the kids, my husband, and some friends. We were out looking for him. We scoured the whole creek."
Ali's owner added, "They all know him, so they were concerned. So they all came out and we had a great time looking for him. And they all love him, if they didn't love him, they wouldn't have come help us find him."
Ali was immediately returned home where he is the star of a reptile show that his owner runs at area schools, churches and birthday parties, "Ali's a pretty popular alligator. He's been around. He's done a lot of shows from here to St. Louis. He's educated a lot of people, giving a lot of people a lot of knowledge about the necessity of alligators and other reptiles."
It seemed as though Ali's owner received the biggest scare from the incident out of anybody, but for a different reason, "I was very concerned because he's been my pet for six years now." She added, "He's very tame. Although he is a wild animal, he's like my dog. I can let him run around the house and not worry about him chasing after anybody because that's not what he does."
Four of Ali's neighbors said they were not scared when they heard he got loose. One even said, "Ali is harmless."
