DESERT SUN (Palm Springs, California) 28 August 07 Pool guy to family: Capturing alligator not in job description (RaNeeka J. Claxton)
Sheryl and Robert Rockwell thought they had discovered an iguana hanging out at the bottom of their pool.
But when their pool guy took a gander Saturday, he told them it most definitely was not, "and no, I'm not getting it."
"Croc," as it's been named, turned out to be a 3-foot-long alligator.
"Alligator hunter?" Sheryl Rockwell joked when an officer from the Riverside County Department of Animal Services arrived at her Cathedral City home that afternoon.
Croc wasn't thrilled when the officer lassoed its tail, she said. The riled reptile swung around and snapped onto the capturing pole.
Croc is being held in a metal tub of water at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms.
His meals: goldfish.
The California Department of Fish & Game is supposed to pick Croc up soon and take him/her - they're not sure its sex - to a "reptile place," said animal services Sgt. Luis Rosa.
It is unclear how Croc ended up in the pool.
Having an alligator is illegal in California, officials said, unless a permit is issued for educational purposes.
Capturing alligator not in job description