A woman watched as an alligator kills her white lab in Shingle Creek near Hunter's Creek.
Now they want to warn the community of the dangerous in the water.
First-grader Anna Flores held up a letter she read to her class on Friday. It explained how she lost her beloved dog, Benny, after an alligator attacked him while he was swimming.
She wants to warn others about bringing their pets near the water.
Anna Flores said, “You should be careful not to bring them to creeks or anything because they than they can start swimming and get attacked by an alligator like mine did.”
The 9 year old white Labrador loved the water both in the family pool and in the creek behind the house.
Anna's dad Marcos Flores said, "Since Benny was a puppy he loved to swim.”
The 80 pound dog would walk Anna to the bus stop every day and meet her when she got off the school bus.
Neighbors on the block say he was a special dog.
Justin Camilleri said, "Always happy all the time to see people, never barked at anyone, or bite anyone ever, always really friendly, loved to play fetch."
The attack happened Thursday.
FWC said a licensed trapper with the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program has been assigned to capture it.
Marcos Flores describes the alligator, “It is humongous it’s scary to have people there playing and this can happen to anyone.”
Like many places in Central Florida -- this area is experiencing some flooding and FWC tells News 13 high water levels could be causing the alligators to come closer to homes.
They encourage people to be extra vigilant when outside.
Anna Flores said, “I’m telling other people so they don’t get sad.”
The Flores family is devastated by their loss.
They said they see many children and animals near the water and want to let people know the dangerous they could encounter.