Pit Bull Service Dog Dies While Saving Owner from Alligator Attack

Robert Lineburger is alive today thanks to his seizure-detection dog, a Pit Bull named Precious.

But it wasn’t her detection of a seizure that saved Lineburger.

Two months ago, as Lineburger and Precious were walking to a restroom at the Port LaBelle Marina in Florida, where they live on a boat, an alligator suddenly lunged out of the water and onto the dock.

Because there are no lights around the marina, Lineburger didn’t see the alligator until it was too late.

Precious “jumped in front of me,” Lineburger told WPTV. “She was roughly 2 to 3 feet away from me when the gator attacked.”

The alligator killed Precious, but Lineburger was unharmed. His hero dog would be alive today if the marina had proper lighting, Lineburger said.

“We have no lighting, which is mandatory code enforcement,” he told WPTV. “Fire extinguishers are mandated by the fire marshal, we have cluttered docks, and at night with no light, you can’t see the clutter. You trip over them, and now you put the alligator problem on top of it, it’s a place for a disaster to happen.”

A neighbor told WPTV he’s seen alligators all around the marina, and has no doubt they’ve been on the dock.

Lineburger wants Glades County code compliance officers to inspect the marina. Nothing will bring back Precious, but Lineburger hopes the tragedy will help others be safe.

“I do not want her death to be in vain,” he told WPTV. “At least let it accomplish something and get some of these violations taken care of.”

Photo via Twitter