WISH (Indianapolis, Indiana) 17 August 05 Greenwood Gator's Story Unfolds

It's been one week since animal control found a four-foot-long alligator in a Greenwood retention pond.

Many people have wondered; how did it end up there?

The gator's name is Akasha, she had been living in a ten by ten foot cage behind Cheryle Duguay's home. After seeing Akasha's picture in the morning paper last week, Duguay says she ran back to the cage to see if her gator was gone.

"My lock was missing and the only way you could get a pad lock off of there is to cut it. I don't know if somebody was playing a cruel joke, or being curious. Obviously they were being stupid," Duguay told News 8.

She says Akasha left the cage and began her trek out the back yard into a creek and finally to the retention pond about a quarter mile away.

"Obviously she made her way straight down to the creek. The creek runs right under the road and right to that pond," Duguay explained.

It took animal control hours to catch her, and didn't sit well with nearby residents. Duguay acknowledges that gators don't exactly make good pets and can be very dangerous.

When asked why does she do it? Duguay replied, "I love reptiles. I love the animals that everybody else is afraid of and mistreats."

But after this, she says she's all done with alligators, "I respect my community around me and how they feel and that the chance that this might happen again? I'm not going to take the chance that somebody might get hurt,"

"It's a little hard for me 'cause I know how much my mom loves these animals. And to see it taken from her? I don't know. It's kind hard for me," Duguay's daughter Jade explained.

Right now, Akasha's in the hands of an animal expert, who may use her for education around the state of Indiana. The owner has not been charged with any wrong-doing.
Greenwood Gator's Story Unfolds

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