BUFFALO, NY
Alligator kept as pet will be taken to Florida
Jojo isn’t your average pet in need of rescue.
The 8-foot-long alligator was found in the basement of a Buffalo home last week by a state Deparment of Environmental Conservation officer. Former Buffalo residents John and Laura Paner will bring him to their Croc Encounters Reptile Sanctuary in Tampa, Fla.
Laura Paner said Saturday that the animal was healthy, but was removed because it is illegal to keep an alligator in a home without a permit.
The Paners plan to pack Jojo in a crate and drive the gator to Florida in the back of their minivan sometime this weekend. Jojo will join more than 200 other animals at the couple’s 22-acre sanctuary.
Paner said this isn’t the first time she’s had to pick up an alligator from a home.
“Individuals have them [alligators] as pets,” she said. “There’s a novelty, especially when they’re cute and small.”
The Paners said they have also rescued tree frogs, turtles and other reptiles from Western New York.
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/100687.html
