Dog's close call with alligator in Florida pond caught on camera

Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A Florida woman taking video of her dog swimming in a pond captured the moment the canine had a close call with an alligator that surfaced right next to it.

Corina Cox said in a Facebook post she was walking her dog, Pokey, in Kissimmee on Sunday after they evacuated their home in Cape Coral due to Hurricane Irma.

The video shows Pokey happily swimming in the pond until an alligator suddenly surfaces right next to him, causing Cox to drop her phone and quickly reel the dog in using his leash.

"We left Cape Coral because of the hurricane. Pokey loves the water, this is a new place, no one told me there were gators out there. So close, to close! Still freaking out!" Cox wrote.

Cox said Pokey was not injured in the encounter.

"No more ponds for him. Looking at that video that gator was back there the whole time. Still so scared!" she wrote in a comment.

The owner said she has learned her lesson about letting Pokey swim in strange locations.

"I'm so grateful that Pokey is still alive! Also learned that I need to watch my surroundings instead of looking through my phone making videos," she wrote.