Pet Alligator Seized From Home With Infant, Dog In Iowa

A 3-foot-long alligator -- which probably looked a lot like this one -- was seized from an Iowa home that also housed a child and a dog.

Cops confiscated an alligator in a Des Moines home this week after it was found in the same house as an infant and a dog.

The Des Moines Register reported that the 3-foot-long pet reptile was seized because authorities believed it posed a danger to the little tyke and the family dog.

Animal rescue officials in Iowa said it's illegal to own an alligator and other exotic animals without the proper licenses. They launched an investigation and cited owner Colby Karaidos.

"It's a people's safety issue as well as the animal's," Josh Colvin with the state Animal Rescue League told the paper.

He said that the gator is about 3 years old and weighs 6 or 7 pounds.

It's yet unclear whether charges will be filed against Karaidos. He told the paper that he plans to get his fanged friend -- which he claims to have bought from an exotic pet show in Iowa -- back from authorities.

Karaidos' child and dog were not harmed.

Pet alligators aren't a new trend among reptile enthusiasts. In September last year, New Jersey cops seized two gators when they raided the home of a suspected drug dealer. Wildlife officials returned them to their natural habitat.

More gators on HuffPost:

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Comments

[LCfield90]

11:29 AM on 04/10/2012

A three year old alligator that is supposedly three feet long, and it only weighs 6 or 7 lbs? Does this make sense to anyone?

[rMatey]

06:42 AM on 04/10/2012

Why would anybody want a pet infant? You know they get big when they grow up.

[Mike Hillard]

12:19 AM on 04/10/2012

just what i always wanted a pet that could eat me for dinner lol

[Rooftop Voter]

07:11 PM on 04/09/2012

This whole story is a croc......................

[Scott Bryan Kanner]

04:50 PM on 04/09/2012

Your'e interfering w darwin

[pie17]

04:10 PM on 04/09/2012

Are thee people crazy. These are not pets, they belong in the wild and that is where they are happy. You can't domisticate them. Especially with a baby and dog in the house. Some people don't think before they buy pets and then someone gets hurt and they kill or blame the pet and the fact is that the pet should of of been in a house and he gets blamed for it. Sad.

[mathamgri]

06:40 PM on 04/09/2012

And it's not a fun life for the alligator, either.

[pie17]

07:26 PM on 04/09/2012

Its a horrible life for the aligator or a 5 ft snake.

[julmeljen]

01:33 PM on 04/09/2012

Why weren't the parents arrested? That's the same as leaving your baby alone to play on the freeway. I cannot believe that a croc/alligator is so loveable that you would just have to have one. I hope social services keeps a close eye on those (laughable) parents.

[mcollins297]

10:03 AM on 04/10/2012

Please don't wish Social Services on this family. Someone is sure to die.

[jonny dipstick]

01:27 PM on 04/09/2012

I'm sure over time the gator would view the baby and dog as its own children and take care of them. Nothing to worry about here. Gators have a reputation of being very caring motherly type creatures. Much like a chimp.

[sis14slf]

01:14 PM on 04/09/2012

They should have left the alligator, and take the child, and the dog from those people.

[NC2NJ]

11:29 AM on 04/09/2012

people are so GD stupid...

[rsticks18]

09:25 AM on 04/09/2012

today's first example of the "jerry springer effect" on america

[rkeeeballs]

09:14 AM on 04/09/2012

But the dog and kid were so bonding with ..........Al Gator !

[r1656]

08:30 AM on 04/09/2012

I believe that isn't an alligator, it's is a crocodile. Anyone agree based on it's snoot?

[clb45para]

08:42 AM on 04/09/2012

Hard to tell at that angle, but it doesn't look pointy enough to me. Besides, Crocs are really aggressive, and would have probably eaten everyone by now.

[tulfs]

01:04 PM on 04/09/2012

Stock photo anyway

[Dean Peters]

06:53 AM on 04/09/2012

The child could be in danger by the family dog, chances are the baby would survive. If the baby or the dog were attached by the alligator those attached would be dead. The story is lacking information about if the pet was in a secure envirement and how the mother of the child felt about the wild pet in the home. I can only assume she was alright about the reptile being there. With that said, the gator was not liscenced and authorities have the right to seize and fine the owners. Did the family dog have his liscence, probally not. The alligator will grow alot bigger and require alot more food. This animal can't be tamed. The child and dog would make a nice snack and there wouldn't be much evidence left after that. Why do we have to wait til there's a trajedy before the animal is seized. I'm not against ownership, but there are laws and fees to own wild animals. Do we have to wait for death or like the caretakers in Ohio whom let out all the wild animals run the streets before someone does something.

[lizp33558]

04:07 AM on 04/09/2012

these people abviously dont care about the baby or dog

[mathamgri]

06:44 PM on 04/09/2012

Or the alligator.

[lizp33558]

03:02 AM on 04/10/2012

your right, we had quite a few in the lake i lived on in florida, they were out sunning themselves.