An elderly woman is dead after an alligator attacked while she was walking her dog -- and her efforts to save her pooch ended up costing her her life.
The tragedy happened Monday at a retirement community in Fort Pierce, FL where the beast lunged at 85-year-old Gloria Serge. The gator reportedly went after the dog first, but Gloria wasn't giving up her pet without a fight.
Unfortunately, Serge got knocked over in the struggle, and the alligator yanked her by the foot into a nearby pond ... where she drowned. Not too long after that, the authorities were called in to wrangle and kill the gator.
Photos released by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Dept. show the dramatic scene ... officers straddling the reptile and tying it up as they prepared to haul it off in the back of a truck.
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This one was estimated to be 10 feet in length, and was ultimately euthanized ... while the dog survived the ordeal.
As we know, gators are a dime a dozen in the sunshine state, and are incredibly dangerous. A toddler was killed under similar circumstances at Disney World in 2016.
Stay safe, folks.