Owner saves dog from 7-foot gator

SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. (CNN/WKMG) - Some call it heroic, others a little crazy. But for Steve Gustafson, it was the only option.

"What choice did I have? That's my best friend... I didn't think. You just react," said Gustafson.

The Central Florida man made a daring rescue after his dog was attacked by a seven-foot alligator.

"I mean it's a big mouth and I just thought uh-oh," said Gustafson.

Gustafson was trimming his oak tree on Friday when his dog "Bounce" got a little too close to the water.

"There goes my dog... all I see is tail of the gator," he recalled.

Gustafson jumped in, belly flopping on top of the gator. Gustafson grabbed hold of its back leg and the gator whipped around and snapped at his hand.

"I grabbed his nose and pinned it to the bottom of the pond," Gustafson recalled.

Gustafson and Bounce were able to get away safely. The gator was trapped and killed two days later by a Florida Fish and Wildfire officer.