A wildlife conservation officer hauls off the captured alligator. Photo courtesy of the Enterprise-Journal.

Social workers never know what to expect when they have to investigate a home.

Social workers in Pike County, MS, received a report of alleged neglect involving children living with an alligator, according to this article in the Enterprise-Journal.

Department of Human Services staff, along with sheriff’s deputies and wildlife conservation officers, visited the home and found an aggressive, four-foot long alligator crammed into a filthy aquarium. Apparently, the animal was kept in the aquarium and the bathroom.

The children were deemed safe but the alligator was snared and released into the wild. Pike County Youth Court Judge Price said the case proves how heroic social workers are.

“It’s unbelievable the different things these people encounter every day,”he said.

Cheers to the Enterprise-Journal for telling the story.

To learn more about how social workers help children and families, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Kids & Families Web page by clicking here.