When I saw the Facebook post of a dog getting bit by a crocodile, I recognized the dog immediately… It was Gecko, Nacho’s dog, the guy that lives on the beach by the Pitillal River.

Nacho has lived by the river for as long as my husband and I have been here, and Gecko has been with him for most of that time. Nacho had another dog, Hueso, a slim, deep honey-colored beauty – which he lost quite recently. Gecko is an older dog, 6 or 7 years old, a terrier cross and very sweet. Gecko survived a crocodile attack, escaping when the croc tried to readjust his grip on him. He is now our foster for the next several weeks. Below is the story…

For some context, there are at least 3 crocodiles in the river by the beach. They are big and bold, and some of that boldness stems from Nacho feeding the crocs and his theory that if he feeds them they won’t eat his dogs. Unfortunately, Hueso did get taken by a crocodile a few weeks ago. Apparently, the dog was chasing raccoons at the river’s edge and a croc grabbed her and drug her under. Nacho heard her screams until nothing. Since then at least 2 more dogs have been killed by the crocs. While walking our own dog, we’ve come across the evidence.

Fast forward to last Thursday night and I see a fb post about a dog bit by one of the crocs, I realize from the video, I know that dog and I know where it happened. It was Nacho’s other dog Gecko, the smaller black scruffy-looking one. I get my husband, we take our dog for a walk so we can find out what is going on, and no Nacho, no Gecko The following morning we go out to see them and we can hear the dog before we can see him. Nacho did get him to a 24hr vet, was given meds and that’s all. Meanwhile, my husband is trying to assess how bad the damage is, we can see the bite wounds and the dog refuses to let anyone near his leg. Clearly in tremendous pain. After a quick look between me and my husband, we suggest to Nacho that we will take the dog to our vet, and depending on what is required we would keep him with us until healthy again…Nacho agrees We get to our vet, bearing in mind there’s A LOT of whining, whimpering, crying and bleating from Gecko. First thing our vet does is to give him anesthesia so that the situation can be properly assessed. After cleaning wounds and x-rays, it is determined that Gecko needs to spend a couple nights in hospital. Poor little Gecko has 2 fractures on his front leg, thankfully his shoulder was uninjured (from how he was holding his leg we thought maybe dislocated). He also has bite wounds all over his little legs, in some places they are nasty gashes…

The vet tells us given Gecko’s age, the best course of action is surgery… orthopedic surgery with a plate and screws, not something she does but she could try to find someone. We realize that this will require real $$$, time to heal, and a proper home to heal in. We go back and forth, what is the best we can do, how much $$$ are we willing to spend etc.

So making my very long story shorter, Gecko had his surgery Friday, a week after the attack, we even convinced Nacho that we should neuter him at the same time. So, basically we are fostering the little guy for the next several weeks, until he has recuperated enough to go back to Nacho… it’s not up to us to take him away and try to rehome him, if you could see Nacho with Gecko you would see why.

This is Gecko home from hospital stay #1, pre-surgery. He had a few days of relaxing with us before his big day. He even started to get playful (although NOT allowed or encouraged). We chose to foster and care for this dog because it was his best chance at getting better. We were of course nervous, not knowing how he would get along with our other pets. We are still monitoring him carefully, to ensure a smooth healing process but he is adapting to his new routine really well. Gecko is such a trusting, loving, brave dog.