The killing led to a torrent of complaints. Sure, the Shih Tzu was a beloved pet. But so was the alligator that ate him. Hell, Betty might be a giant lizard but lots of folks in the Sunrise Retirement Homes considered her a part of the community. They’d wave to her as they went by, watching her sun herself in the humid Florida afternoon.

What was Ms. Linda doing letting that little mop of a dog outside her condo anyway? Such a tiny thing shouldn’t be runnin’ around alone in south Florida. Plenty of predators might have gotten to him. Betty’s owner (Jim, who preferred to be called Betty’s guardian) pointed out that at least the dog wasn’t eaten by a stranger.

Ms. Linda did not find solace in that fact. Neither did many Sunrisers who had never quite cottoned up to Betty. So they came up with a settlement: Kill Betty and they’d call it even.

Jim refused and many of the Sunrisers sided with him. Who can blame an alligator for being an alligator?

So complaints turned into lawsuits, which made heated words hotter until someone uttered the legal panacea, “I fear for my life.” Then the bullets started flying.

Betty lives alone in the Sunrise community now, emptied of humans by the conflict she caused. And she seems just fine with that.

See the author’s published work here.

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