A Florida girl and her family’s dog were attacked by an otter that broke into their Lakeland home, according to WFLA.
Gwyn Ewert, 17, let her French Bulldog, Scooter, out early Tuesday and then heard fighting on the back porch.
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“I sprinted to the backdoor and I was like ‘Scooter!’ All I saw was like a big, black ball just all over the place. So he stumbled in the door and I tried to shut it as fast as possible but then the otter got stuck,” Gwyn Ewert told WFLA.
At that point, the otter was in the house and the entire family was awake and doing everything they could to get it out of their home.
“I snatched it by the tail,” Casina Ewert, the girl’s mother, said. “And then I held it up like a prize. And the otter’s going crazy. It was like clawing at me and grabbing on to the backs of the furniture in my house.”
When Casina Ewert finally got the otter outside, she realized Gwyn had been bitten on her leg by the animal.
“After the fact, I lifted up my pant leg. My leg was shaking and there were drips of blood all over the floor,” Gwyn Ewert said.
Gwyn was taken to the hospital, where she received a rabies shot as a precaution.
“The FWC is working at this time to increase awareness in the area by notifying residents and visitors of a potentially aggressive otter,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Melody Kilborn said in a statement. “If you observe any unusual behavior such as a river otter approaching pets or people, acting aggressively or to report a sighting, please contact the FWC at 888-404-3922.”