Monday, June 13, 2011

The Dragon Tamer









Man's Best Friend...a 17-ft 980-lb croc

Chito made friends with the croc after finding him with a gunshot wound on the banks of the Central American state's Parismina river 20 years ago. He had been shot in the left eye by a cattle farmer and was close to death. But Chito enlisted the help of several pals to load the massive reptile into his boat.

He says: "When I found Pocho in the river he was dying, so I brought him into my house.

"He was very skinny, weighing only around 150 lb. I gave him chicken and fish and medicine for six months to help him recover.

"I stayed by Pocho's side while he was ill, sleeping next to him at night. I just wanted him to feel that somebody loved him, that not all humans are bad.

"It meant a lot of sacrifice. I had to be there every day. I love all animals - especially ones that have suffered."

At first it was slow, slow. I played with him a bit, slowly doing more.

"Then I found out that when I called his name he would come over to me."

At one point during his recovery, Chito left the croc in a lake near his house. But as he turned to walk away, to his amazement Pocho got out of the water and began to follow him home.

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