DAILY NEWS (Longview, Washington) 27 January 05 Humane society has run-in with alligator (Brenda Blevins McCorkle)
Jason LaRouche has seen a lot of creatures dropped at the doors of the Humane Society of Cowlitz County since he started working there four months ago.
Not many alligators though. Until now.
Last week, LaRouche, a 23-year-old animal care technician at the shelter, found a box outside the shelter's door.
"It said, 'Caution, live alligator,' on the box," LaRouche said. "Well, I thought it was a prank at first."
But when he opened the lid, an almost 4-foot-long alligator was inside.
"I'm the one who had to pull it out of the box," LaRouche said. "I hadn't handled a reptile like that before. I've handled snakes and stuff, but not a man-eater."
The previous owner, whose identity is not known to the shelter, taped the gator's mouth shut with duct tape. It might seem cruel, but it kept LaRouche and other shelter workers from potential injury.
Although its mouth was taped, the alligator, who was nicknamed "Ali," didn't seem concerned.
"He didn't fight or hiss," LaRouche said. "He let me pick him up and pet him."
A bathtub at the shelter became the creature's temporary home while workers arranged to have it transported to Brad's World Reptiles in Corvallis, Ore.
LaRouche drove the gator to the Portland airport, where Brad Tylman, owner of the reptile rescue organization, picked up the animal.
"Brad's) isn't open to the public," LaRouche said. "He does educational exhibits and goes around to show off the reptiles."
Tylman said the alligator is settling into his new digs.
"He seemed pretty mellow," he said.
Eventually, the animal will become part of Tylman's traveling educational exhibit.
"He'd be part of the fair circuit," Tylman said. "One alligator that we have has been to Alaska, like, 25 times."
Tylman said he enjoys telling the stories of the alligators and crocodiles he's taken in.
"I've got about 2,500 reptiles, and this is alligator number seven," he said. "People buy them, and there's no place for bigger ones. There aren't many who can take care of big (alligators)."
LaRouche said he grew to like his sharp-toothed pal and would have given him a home.
"I thought he was pretty cool," the 2001 Kelso High School graduate said. "I tried to get my parents to adopt him, but they wouldn't."
"I would have kept him, but not in an apartment."
Humane society has run-in with alligator