Gator, mistaken for hiding dog, bites Pasco man's hands

LAND OLAKES — A Land O'Lakes man ducked to look under his car, thinking his dog had crawled underneath.

But when Joseph Cannistra reached below just after midnight Sunday, he discovered a 5-foot alligator, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

That gator wasn't in the mood to play. It bit both of the man's hands. Cannistra, 38, received stitches and was released from University Community Hospital.

Wildlife officers captured the gator. Because it was injured, the animal will be euthanized, according to the wildlife agency.