A service dog died in Florida while saving her owner from an alligator attack on a dimly lit marina dock.
Robert Lineburger, who lives on a boat at the Port LaBelle Marina, was taking his pit bull Precious for a walk in April when tragedy struck.
As the pair strolled down the dock, a hungry gator snuck up and attacked — but the seizure-sniffing canine hero intervened.
“She jumped in front of me. She was roughly 2 to 3 feet away from me when the gator attacked,” Lineburger told NBC affiliate WPTV-TV.
Lineburger survived — but Precious didn’t.
Alligators aren’t uncommon around the marina, but Lineburger faults the poor lighting that he thinks prevented him from seeing the danger ahead.
“We have no lighting, which is mandatory code enforcement. Fire extinguishers are mandated by the fire marshal, we have cluttered docks and at night with no light, you can’t see the clutter,” he said.
“You trip over them, and now you put the alligator problem on top of it, it’s a place for a disaster to happen.”
A Glades County official told the Daily News the situation is being addressed.
“The inspector went out yesterday but we won’t get the report till Monday,” said Inga Williams, planning director.
“Nothing they will do will bring her back, but I do not want her death to be in vain,” Lineburger said.
“At least let it accomplish something and get some of these violations taken care of.”
