Alligator Uncovered in Cleveland Home, Owner Arrested

After receiving a call about a domestic disturbance, police reported to a Cleveland home Thursday afternoon to find a man barricading both himself and his pet alligator inside.

According to WKYC, a SWAT team arrived at the home after the unlikely pet was discovered.

The alligator found in the Cornelia Avenue home was turned over to animal control after an officer laid on top of the gator and others taped its mouth shut. The owner of the home was then arrested.

Currently residing in the Cleveland City Kennel, the alligator is being kept in an isolated cage with small pool.

A spokesperson from Cleveland Animal Care and Control reported that the alligator is at least six feet long and that the state plans to pick up the former pet tomorrow and take it to an exotic animal rescue in South Carolina.

This is not, however, the first attempt to keep an unusual pet in the area. It was discovered earlier this year that a Mayfield Heights woman had owned micro-pigs for the previous five years. In another instance, a woman in Belmont County fought to keep her pet deer, which she had raised from infancy.