Black Lab Beauty Roberts saves her duck pals from an eight foot alligator

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Man’s best friend was trying to save her best friends. Beauty the black lab has been long-time pals with ducks Cress, Downey, and Dot.

“She is just super sweet to them, it’s not like you would think with a duck and dog,” Owner Misti Roberts said.

Earlier this week Beauty risked her life to save her feathery friends from a hungry alligator. Misti Roberts says Beauty went to where the ducks were because she follows them everywhere, and tried to scare off the gator. That’s when the dog was attacked.

Lake Powell, which is on the west side of Panama City Beach, is the lake where Beauty Roberts was attacked by what neighbors said was an eight to ten-foot alligator.

“I saw an alligator right at the edge of the sand, not on the sand but right on the edge,” Roberts said.

When owner Misti Roberts called for Beauty...

“And then I realized she couldn’t get up the stairs, so I ran down and then obviously there was just blood everywhere and I realized she had been hurt,” Roberts said.

The family immediately rushed to VetsPets to see Dr. Gerrie Barr.

“When we first got Beauty here.. she was unstable and in shock, she had multiple soft tissue wounds and an obvious leg issue,” Dr. Barr said.

Dr. Barr said while alligator attacks are not common they can happen.

“We must be aware that waterfront around freshwater surfaces can be very threatening at times if you have a hungry gator like this. No one did anything wrong, this is just something we need to be aware of. It doesn’t happen every day but when it does it is pretty ugly,” Dr. Barr said.

Dr. Barr told us this Saturday Beauty will undergo surgery for a broken femur.

He expects a full recovery in six to eight weeks. And if things go as planned, she will be reunited with her duck buddies sometime next week.

“They are her buddies, there is no question about that. Give her credit for saving their lives,” Dr. Barr said.

Beauty Roberts, the dog that fought the beast and saved her best friends.

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