AN elderly woman has been viciously attacked by an alligator after trying to protect her dog from its jaws.

Dolores Boppel, 84, threw her dog in the air while on a walk last week to protect her pet from the advances of an alligator.

Dolores Boppel, 84, pictured in the hospitalCredit: WBBH

Boppel, laying in a hospital bed, threw her dog in the air to protect it and suffered bites to her leg, arm, and handCredit: WBBH

An alligator warning sign in FloridaCredit: WBBH

Boppel was walking her dog in Southwest Florida on the evening of September 5 when she noticed the seven-foot beast, the New York Times reported.

“It was like a torpedo… I didn’t have time to think,” Boppel said.

She was reportedly taking a stroll with her dog by a pond in the North Fort Myers area at around 7 pm when the attack happened.

Boppel tossed her dog in the air in a desperate attempt to protect her pet, NBC News reported.

While the dog was unharmed, Boppel sustained injuries to her leg, hand, and arm.

It seems the gator took a large chunk from Boppel’s right leg.

She was taken to a local hospital and was reported to be in a “stable condition,” according to Bradley Johnson, spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Boppel’s injuries, however, were described as “significant.”

The alligator was trapped after the attack and was removed from the location.

It was “humanely euthanized” due to public safety concerns.

The seven-foot, three-inch beast was a “relatively average” size, according to Johnson.

Alligator bites are rare in Florida, the commission said.

There have been less than 12 bites per year, according to figures from 2017 to 2022.

If an alligator is spotted, Americans are advised to keep a safe distance from the creature, stay away from the edges of water, and keep their pets on leashes.

Other advice to avoid gator territory includes staying inside posted swimming areas and not feeding them.

In addition, people are advised to only swim during the daytime and not allow pets to swim or drink from possible alligator-infested waters.

Meanwhile, The U.S. Sun previously reported that 47-year-old Sean Thomas was found dead in Largo, Florida, in May 2022 with one arm torn off after a gator attack.

“It appears that he went in before the park opened – unfortunately, not a good time to be in any lake, but especially during alligator mating season,” the director of Parks and Conservation Resources said.

Just weeks after this, in June 2022, a South Carolina man was 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed after an 11-foot alligator pulled him into a pond.

An alligator that has been recoveredCredit: WBBH