A 5-foot-long alligator crept inside a Louisiana home. The homeowner said he would have shot it if n

• An alligator crept inside a Louisiana home through the dog door. 
• Homeowner Don Shultz said his dog's growling saved the alligator from being shot.
• "Alligators really like to go after dogs," Shultz told The Washington Post.

A man was shocked to find a five-foot-long alligator inside his Louisiana home — and would have shot it with his gun if not for his pet dog's warnings.

In a YouTube video posted by homeowner Don Shultz on June 24, an alligator could be seen hissing and thrashing inside his house. The animal was then removed from the house by a trapper from the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, moving it outside with a catch pole.

In the video, three deputies were shown standing by to assist the trapper as he worked to bind the alligator in the garage with duct tape and rope. The trapper was shown kneeling on the alligator next to a white sportscar as a deputy stepped on the animal's snout to keep it completely immobilized until it was finally tied up.

"How did he get inside the house?" the trapper asked Shultz in the video.

"Through the dog door," Shultz replied.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Shultz said he was aware of an intruder entering his house at 1:30 a.m. as he had heard his dog Panda growling. Shultz grabbed his pistol from the nightstand expecting someone to be prowling around his house — but it turned out to be an alligator, per the interview.

Shultz told WaPo his dog had prevented the alligator from crawling into his bedroom, which in turn saved the reptile from being shot.

"Alligators really like to go after dogs," Shultz said in the interview, adding that "it probably was stalking her."

Shultz told WaPo the alligator followed his dog into the house as it was attracted to her scent. He then called the authorities but initially could not open the keypad-operated front door as the alligator was in the way, per WaPo. Eventually, the three deputies were able to enter the home through an access code.

"They showed up pretty fast," Shultz said. "They all said, 'We had to come see this.'"

The trapper then arrived at Shultz's house and removed the animal, releasing it further in the bayou, reported WaPo. A bayou refers to the marshy parts of a stream, river, or lake. 

To prevent similar incidents from happening, Shultz has since installed a Ring camera and replaced the dog door with one that can only be accessed with his dog's electronic collar, per WaPo.

Shultz did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

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