A 74-year-old Florida man jumped into a pond to rescue his three-month-old puppy from the jaws of an alligator.

According to CNN, the man said when the alligator grabbed his dog his instincts and adrenaline kicked in. He ran into the pond in his backyard --- while smoking a cigar -- and rescued his spaniel puppy, Gunner, from the alligator.

He said that grabbing the alligator wasn't the hard part, it was prying open its jaws while it still had the puppy in its grasp.

The man’s hands were a little chewed up and he had to get a tetanus shot. The puppy had a puncture to his stomach and is doing fine after a trip to the vet.

He kept his cigar in his mouth the entire time. He saved his dog --- and his stogie.

The guy doesn’t want the reptile put down – he said it’s the gator’s home and he was just doing what he does. But now he keeps his puppy on a leash.

The video was captured by the Florida Wildlife Federation and their campaign called “Sharing the Landscape.”

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