300-pound gator in garage catches homeowner off guard

HOUSTON – A man in Fulshear got quite the shock when he opened his garage door Thursday evening.

"I took two steps in and his head was literally right there," said Doug Dallmer, describing the nearly 9-foot long alligator that had crawled its way inside the garage.

"It was a little nerve-wracking," Dallmer said.

Dallmer called Fulshear police, which in turn called a wrangler to remove the alligator.

"It was a big one. We were surprised by how big it was," said Capt. Mike McCoy, Fulshear police.

Dallmer recorded video on his cellphone, as a group tried to lasso a rope around the alligator's head. During the recording, the alligator could be heard hissing. It also opened its mouth in an attempt to defend itself.

Alligator sightings are common in Fulshear, as are removals, officials said.

Still, this case was odd.

"It's unique for an alligator this size. This alligator is quite big," Capt. McCoy said. The official measurement came in at 8 feet, 9 inches long, weighing upwards of 300 pounds.

"It's quite a story. No doubt about it," Doug Dallmer said, breathing a sigh of relief that he and his family are safe.

The alligator will be taken to an alligator farm in El Campo, Texas, where it will live on a refuge, officials said.

"That was our goal here," said McCoy. "Not to harm the alligator."