I would not walk a small dog near one of the lakes or take it fishing, either. The guy who sculled for my father for years had a horrifying (and he swore, true) story. His dog always sat up on the stern of the boat when they went out. One day while fishing in the river, a large gator followed the boat for about 15 minutes, finally knocked the dog off the stern with its tail, ate the dog (of course). Too many poodles go missing along the canals further down in the State for me to feel comfortable taking a small dog near any body of water that could be home to a gator.
As long as I can remember, there have been alligators in Lake DeFuniak. Some times bigger than others. You could sometimes hear them bellow in the night, if you were in the lake yard at the right time of night. One of the larger ones took a stroll down Main Street when I was about 12 years old, scared the old guys sitting under that gazebo called "The Opinion Place" half to death. They hadn't moved that fast in years. Another time, my MI husband and I were walking around the lake and he sighted a baby gator of about 5 ft. long, sunning itself at the edge of the lake. My family scared him with gator stories the rest of the night. I guess one gets accustomed to reptiles living in FL.