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Backyard Beagle Sniffs Out Stray Gator

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — Beagles are bred to find small game like rabbits, but apparently they can sniff out bigger game too.

A beagle named Lincoln Razz was barking in his backyard near Palm Springs on Monday, pointing his 29-year-old owner Daisy Maldonado to an alligator wedged between two fences.

Officials from the Riverside County Department of Animal Control say they captured the 3-foot-long stray gator and planned to find it a tub of water before seeking out a permanent home.

Animal Services spokesman John Welsh says it's not clear how the alligator got to the yard in Desert Hot Springs and they don't plan to look for the owner, who is unlikely to come forward because pet alligators are illegal in California.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

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