Building owner finds scaly surprise in vacant apartment
Podcast Episode
BELOIT TOWNSHIP — A tavern owner and his family got the surprise of their lives after a renter moved out of an apartment above the business.
It had been about a month since the former tenant moved out of the apartment above Hanson's Tavern, 615 Cranston Road, and owner Richard Pinnon sent some teenage relatives to clean out the space, said Willis Abegglen, deputy chief of the Town of Beloit Police Department.
The teens screamed when they found a 3-foot alligator in the apartment, Abegglen said.
"One of the (tavern) employees went up there and caught it, put it in the bathtub," he said.
Someone called police, who in turn called the Rock County Humane Society.
The American alligator was in rough shape after a month of neglect, but it survived because it's cold-blooded and can shut down its metabolism, said Jim Hurley, humane society interim director.
"It's probably doing a little better now that it's warmed up," he said this morning. "Right now, it's just sitting in a pool, kind of basking."
Hurley couldn't feed the alligator right away because he had to wait until its body temperature rose, but he planned to give it some gizzards ("a good source of vitamins and proteins") today, he said.
Hurley hopes to send the alligator to The Serpent Sanctuary in Fort Atkinson.
Town of Beloit police are looking for the former tenant, but they don't know where he is, Abegglen said.
The state doesn't have a law against purchasing alligators, but many municipalities, including the Town of Beloit, have ordinances against owning them, Hurley said.
Even if it's legal where you live, it's not a good idea to own an alligator, he said.
"It's not a domestic pet, where you're going to be able to pet it and be friendly," he said. "They're going to look at you as food at some point."
He estimated the alligator in question is 2 or 3 years old, not full grown but still big enough to bite someone's finger off.
The humane society is having an interesting start this year, Hurley said. Last week, it called The Serpent Sanctuary to take two illegal 6-foot pythons and a baby 1-foot python.
Feb 17, 2009 at 9:02 a.m.
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Well the owner of Hanson's son just passed away, maybe that's why it took so long to tend to the apartment upstairs. He was a little busy planning a funeral and grieving. Jeez, people, you're so quick to put blame on people when you don't even know the facts.
Feb 17, 2009 at 5:35 a.m.
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waiting a whole month, then sending teenagers to clean the apartment sounds more than FISHY !!
Feb 17, 2009 at 12:44 a.m.
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ethylene, if the alligator is cold, its very very sluggish. Its not gonna expend engergy unless it absolutely has too.
As for the pythons earlier this year, I still find it funny that constrictors are banned in Janesville and Beloit, but you can have a pit, rott, doberman, akita, samoyed, great dane, german shepard all of which are more than likely to injure a person than a constrictor. My old burmese never bit anyone but me (my fault, I screwed up when feeding). Its never chased someone and attacked them. I had an akita attack me though IN MY OWN YARD.
Feb 16, 2009 at 6:53 p.m.
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badgerinbuckeye
I thought deep fried alligator tasted like chicken.
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It does taste like chicken but the scales are real tough to chew .
Feb 16, 2009 at 5:44 p.m.
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I thought deep fried alligator tasted like chicken.
Feb 16, 2009 at 4:34 p.m.
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Oh my! The people of rock county never cease to amaze!! I do believe I would have messed myself if I would have come across that animal.
Feb 16, 2009 at 2:52 p.m.
Feb 16, 2009 at 2:20 p.m.
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SarahB - Where did anybody fault the (property) owner?
Feb 16, 2009 at 2:12 p.m.
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Deep fried battered Gator is quite tasty. Served in Florida all day long.
Feb 16, 2009 at 1:19 p.m.
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JCK: I should have clarified that I was referring to the owner of Hanson's and not the owner of the creature. I have zero respect for anyone who leaves an animal behind, whether alligator or other type. My cat will vouch for my sincerity.
Feb 16, 2009 at 12:55 p.m.
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Sannio-They do have terrific burgers, and they have a 2-4-1 night but I can't remember what day of the week it is. They also have an excellent prime rib sandwich, but bring a friend or a healthy appetite, 'cuz they are huge. They also have frog legs they are wonderful, if you like that kind of thing.
Feb 16, 2009 at 12:39 p.m.
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Why would the owner wait a month to tend to his rental property? Sounds kind of fishy. If it was my property I would be looking it over the day of check-out time !
Feb 16, 2009 at 12:22 p.m.
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"Poor alligator"? Excuse me but one of those sent to clean up the place could have been mauled by this "poor alligator". The Gazette should have published the name of the former tenant, someone would know where he is...
They do make nice boots out of these "poor alligators".
Feb 16, 2009 at 11:47 a.m.
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Sarah, one thing that seems obvious is that the alligator was abandoned presumably by the tenant. I'm with those who have no idea why anyone would own an alligator as a pet. But someone did and whether owning it was legal or not abandoning it was inhumane. I hope they find the tenant and if he was the owner that he is at least ticketed for abandoning it. Someone took on the responsibility of owning it and when it became a nuisance just walked away leaving it to fend for itself and/or be someone else's problem. That ain't right.
Feb 16, 2009 at 11:21 a.m.
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Mmmmm...gizzards.
So, what's so special about Hanson's burgers anyway? Several people have told me they're great, but I've never been there.
Feb 16, 2009 at 11:15 a.m.
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Poor alligator; I hope it recovers quickly. I wouldn't fault the owner until I had more details however.
Feb 16, 2009 at 10:55 a.m.
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It's the same with a lot of wild animals. They seem cute when they're young, but then ... they grow up. And they're a WILD ANIMAL.
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I've had tenants trash apartments before but never any animals left behind. Even a friendly dog would be a nasty handful after a period with no food or water.
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Odds they get their security deposit back?
Feb 16, 2009 at 10:36 a.m.
Feb 16, 2009 at 9:50 a.m.
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I don't understand why people want to own these things. They will eat you! They aren't meant to be domestic animals! Same with snakes. I couldn't imagine having one of these animals in my house. Gives me the creeps!
Feb 16, 2009 at 9:33 a.m.
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It must smell pretty good in there now....
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