ST. MARTINVILLE – Misti Poché was getting ready for work when she heard the family dog, Marley, barking in the back yard.

Something was amiss. Marley, a Great Pyrenese, is a big, calm dog that almost never barks.

What it was barking at was even bigger than Marley.

Poché went outside to investigate and discovered an alligator just six inches short of 10 feet long lounging in her back yard like it owned the place.

“Of course, it took a few minutes to realize what I was seeing was actually an alligator.” she said. “I ran inside my house to get my husband. He didn’t believe me when I told him what was in our yard. He ran outside and was as surprised as I was.”

The Pochés live off of La. 96, the Catahoula Highway, in sugar cane country. There is a small coulee that runs from Catahoula Lake behind their home.

“I called the sheriff’s department and a deputy was sent over,” Poché said. “The deputy was as surprised as we were because of the size of the alligator.”

A nuisance control specialist was called in to dispose of the gator.

“The most interesting sight was seeing it walking through my yard and the yards of my neighbors.” Poché said.

“Many of us watch ‘Swamp People’ on television, but to actually find something of this size walking through your yard is very fearful – especially since my three children (ages 8, 9 and 11) play in the back yard every day.”

There was no word on where the animal was relocated.