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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend June 20, 2005 Paul Sabin was reunited Sunday with Usal, a 3�-foot-long alligator that was missing for about three days in his Medford neighborhood. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Gator’s back 3 days later The reptile turns up in a yard near owner Paul Sabin’s home By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Three days of freedom did nothing for the disposition of Usal, Medford’s missing alligator. Returned Sunday to owner Paul Sabin, the 3½ -foot reptile responded by hissing menacingly and flipping his tail in front of a curious crowd of kids and neighbors. "He didn’t want to come home," said Sabin, 34, a roofing contractor turned reptile rescuer. "He squirmed and tried to bite me." On the lam since Thursday, Usal was spotted at about 12:30 p.m. Sunday crawling through neighbor Mark Collins’ backyard. Sabin moved quickly to retrieve the errant beast, but Collins was more interested than alarmed. "My brother-in-law was there and he was wearing sandals," said Collins, 49, a medical center executive. "We were worried about his big toe." Advertisement Usal normally resides in a 1,500-gallon shallow pool in Sabin’s Dixie Lane garage. The alligator was out of the pool on Thursday, when Sabin became distracted by another pet, a 12-foot Burmese python, who seemed sick. By the time Sabin turned his attention back to Usal, the alligator had absconded. Sabin credited Sunday’s sunny weather with the reptile’s return. Allowed to crawl on the sidewalk outside Sabin’s home, Usal flattened himself against the warm concrete. Passing traffic and strolling families stopped to gawk at the 3-year-old yellow-green lizard basking in the afternoon rays. Usal is only one of many critters corralled by Sabin, who said he’s been collecting and rehabilitating reptiles for about four months. His menagerie includes five snakes and a Savannah monitor lizard, in addition to the alligator. Such pets are legal under state and local law, though bills introduced this year in the Oregon Legislature would change that. House Bill 3046 and Senate Bill 661 have stalled, but both would expand Oregon’s definition of exotic pets to include alligators and would require owners to obtain permits or face stiff fines. Sabin said he’d support such legislation. It’s too easy for people to buy 8-inch baby alligators at pet stores without realizing that they’ll eventually grow to 10 to 15 feet and develop jaws strong enough to crush a man’s arm — or worse, Sabin said. The number of alligators living in local homes would surprise you, said Joey Sparks, who works in the reptile section of the Grange Co-op in Medford. "I’d say there’s probably 25 3-foot alligators in Medford right now," said Sparks, who has talked to their owners. "I tell them it was probably a bad idea." One local alligator owner already called to ask if Sabin would take the reptile off his hands. Sabin said sure. Sabin figures he’ll keep Usal until the end of the summer, when he plans to ship him — and any others — to a Colorado reptile repository. That’s fine for now, said Lynne Young, owner of Colorado Gators, which started as a fish farm near Colorado Springs. More than 400 alligators now reside at site, which has also become home to large snakes, snapping turtles and other suddenly unwanted pets. "We can probably take alligators for a while yet," said Young, who deplores what she regards as irresponsible ownership of exotic animals. Stopping the practice has become part of her agency’s mission, Young said. "We do school programs and try to teach kids the difference between a good pet and a bad pet," she said. "There’s snakes that don’t get that big and little geckos. It doesn’t have to be 12 feet long." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztechmedia Website Hosting Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy online casino Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Advertisement s