MAUREPAS — A couple in Maurepas had an unexpected dinner guest on Wednesday night - an alligator.

Bobby McKenzie said he heard a noise near his screen door, but he did not think an alligator entered the patio area of his home. 

“I walked up to the screen door and I could see the tail. I didn’t see the whole alligator. I turned around and went back inside,” McKenzie said. 

Bobby and Susan said the nine-foot gator crawled through a small hole in their screen window. Susan said she immediately took action.

“I called 9-1-1. I got the Livingston Parish Sheriff because we’re not going to go out and touch it,” she said.

Livingston Parish deputies and a family friend were able to tussle and wrangle the alligator. Fifteen minutes later, the group was able to successfully tie up the gator and tape its mouth shut, dragging it out toward the river.

After living in their home for 18 years, the couple said this was the first time an alligator was brave enough to go inside the house. 

“We see them on the swamp side, and we see them in the water, but never –  they’re usually not that aggressive,” Bobby said.

The McKenzies said they are glad that nobody was harmed and their dogs are safe. They hope they do not have any intruders in the future.