HOLIDAY, Fla. (WFLA) – It’s not every day that you see an alligator in a furniture store, but it actually happened in Pasco County.
Employees at the American Freight furniture store in Holiday had an unexpected guest show up inside their story on Wednesday.
An alligator that appeared to be 4 to 5 feet long was discovered in a nearby parking lot. Somehow, the gator made it from the water, which was located behind a shopping complex, to the parking lot.
Pasco County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to move the gator.
Jonathan Osasio, the Florida manager of the American Freight furniture store, saw what was happening and offered to let the deputies bring the alligator through the furniture store to put it back in the water, instead of dragging it around the shopping complex, which could hurt the gator.
“That asphalt is so hot, and it’s all gravel, so it would have really hurt his belly,” says Osasio.
Customers were kept back away from the gator, but Osasio says they were pretty shocked.
“When he got onto the cool surface of our floor, he calmed down,” says Osasio.
Video recorded by American Freight employee Peter Soto shows sheriff’s deputies dragging the gator through the store, in between recliners and sofas.
“It was amazing,” says Soto.
Soto moved to Holiday from New York just a couple of months ago. He has only been working at American Freight for 8 days.
He says he never thought he’d see something like this.
The deputies released the alligator safely into the water behind the store.
We’ll have more on this unusual alligator encounter tonight at 5 on News Channel 8.
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