Woman pranked by family calls RSPCA after finding 'baby alligator' in her bathtub
A woman from Rhyl called the RSPCA after being tricked into believing there was a baby alligator in her bath tub.
Clare Kelly was told by her family that the large reptile had been found in a busy nearby.
After suggesting she feed the alligator with a trip to the butchers, and making sure her hamster was safe, the 25-year-old made the snap decision to call the RSPCA for help.
But when the animal rescue responder raised his suspicions, Ms Kelly realised the baby alligator was in fact a plastic toy.
"My brother went out and told me he'd found this baby alligator in a bush in Rhyl. My mother was in on the prank too," she said.
"They were so convincing, that I genuinely thought it was real and was planning on how to look after him.
"They didn't realise I was going to phone the RSPCA! It wasn't until I told my family I'd called that they burst out laughing - and I had to then tell the RSPCA this alligator was actually made of plastic!"
RSPCA inspector Andrew Broadbent said it had seemed highly unlikely as soon as he took the call.
"It's important to never rule anything out in the animal welfare world - but there aren't too many alligators lurking in the bushes in Rhyl!
"The poor caller had been tricked by family members, who had put a toy alligator in the bath and pretended they collected it from nearby bushes. She was only trying to help - and was very apologetic.
"Our chat certainly offered a bit of light relief at a difficult time for everybody at the moment, amid the coronavirus pandemic. "
He added this was not the first time the RSPCA has received a bizarre request for help.
“We do sometimes get calls where people mistake toys or other objects for animals - and my colleagues have previously rushed to the aid of a rubber scorpion, a cuddly dog stuck on a roof, or a squirrel mistaken for a cat up a tree! But this was certainly a new one on me!”
In 2019, the RSPCA received 1,175,193 phone calls - and approximately every 30 seconds, someone in England and Wales contacts the animal welfare charity.
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