Meet Richard Wilbanks, a 74-year-old senior citizen from Estero, Florida who was walking his dog named Gunner around his backyard pond when a juvenile alligator swooshed right out of the water, snatched the 3-month-old puppy, and started dragging it into the pond.

“We were just out walking by the pond,” Wilbanks said in an interview with CNN, “and it came out of the water like a missile. I never thought an alligator could be that fast. It was so quick.”

He explained that as soon as he saw his pupper being snatched away by the alligator, the adrenaline kicked in and he instinctively jumped into the water to fight off the predator.