A quiet evening walk in Naples, Florida turned into a heart-stopping moment when a large alligator suddenly launched from the water toward a dog standing near the edge. Encounters like this highlight how common it is for wildlife and neighborhoods to overlap across Southwest Florida, especially in communities built along canals, lakes, and retention ponds. Alligators are powerful ambush predators capable of explosive bursts of speed when prey comes close to the shoreline. In Florida, the water m