CHARLESTON, S.C. – Louise Monteith says that early Monday morning her and her husband heard noises on their front porch, thinking it was a dog or a cat, they ignored it.
Turns out it was a seven-foot alligator!
"It could've been bad. It could've been 7:00, and our 12-year-old or 14-year-old daughter was going out the door going to carpool, or if we had let our cat, it could've been a bad ending," Monteith said.
The couple called Gator Getters, a removal service contracted by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
They think the gator pushed his was way through the railing of the porch. Angus McBride with the SCDNR says that "nuisance" animals are usually euthanized once they come in contact with humans.
Relocating them can be difficult since they can travel far and there's a good chance the animal will end up back where they were taken from.
McBride also warned to, "enjoy them from a distance. Do not take photographs. Do not try to entice the alligator, don't try and approach the alligator by yourself. Most alligators are more afraid of you than you are of them."