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Updated at 4:45 p.m. ET: There is a sad update to a pot bust that included a 5-foot alligator-like creature that was allegedly used by his owner to guard drugs in Castro Valley.
Veterinarians at the Oakland Zoo reported Thursday that Mr. Teeth died overnight.
Dr. Karen Emanuelson said the animal, which looks like an alligator, was actually a dwarf caiman. And when he came to the zoo Tuesday after an unusual drug bust, he was critically ill and non-responsive.
Veterinary staff said they examined Mr. Teeth, took blood samples and determined his prognosis was poor. Emanuelson confirmed Thursday that the animal died sometime in the night, but no one at the zoo would explain or discuss any more. It was not clear why the caiman, thought to be about 16 years old, died, or if guarding drugs at a man's house had any connection to his death.
The odd story of the caiman came to light when Alameda County sheriff's deputies walked into a house earlier this week on the 19000 block of Mount Jasper Drive in Castro Valley to do a routine probation check.
The found the suspect, 32-year-old Assif Mayar, and the drugs and the animal.
Mayar said he acquired the caiman in 1996 to commemorate the death of rapper Tupac Shakur, deputies said.
The caiman was found in a Plexiglas tank in one of the bedrooms and was being used as a deterrent to would-be thieves.
Sgt. J.D. Nelson said when deputies got to the bedroom they found Mr. Teeth "guarding" a 34-pound stash of dried, processed marijuana worth about $100,000."
When NBC Bay Area knocked on the door Wednesday night, the lights at Mayar's home were on and dogs were barking, but no one answered. Neighbors told NBC Bay Area that Mayar and his wife moved into the house about two years ago before their son was born.
Related: Cops respond to shooting, find stripper pole, gators guarding pot plants
A mother of two who didn’t want to be identified said she’d been inside that house before but noticed and heard nothing out of the ordinary. "They’re just family people like us, and she has a little boy, very cute, about 20 months, so of course you wouldn’t suspect or expect anything like this from this neighborhood," she said.
Another neighbor, who also did not want to be named, added: "It doesn’t belong in a neighborhood with little kids, and there are lots of little kids. There’s a school about a block away, and if the thing got out, that could be really dangerous."
Caimans are generally from South and Central America and require a lot of care. They need a heat source, a large pond with extra space, and fresh meat bi-weekly.
Mayar was booked into the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on drug possession and sales charges. It was not immediately clear if additional animal cruelty charges would be considered.
NBC Bay Area's Stephanie Chuang contributed to this report.
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Died of a broken heart.
If the animal was 16 years old and died at the zoo? shouldnt the zoo be charged? just sayin...
From all appearances in the NBCBayArea photo, this animal is in need of some good toothpaste! He must have been eating something green...do ya' think so? Well, too bad for this hippocrocagator, but now the law makers have another fairy tale to spread and add to all the other myths about the evils of the "devil's weed." This will be used as another measure to ensure that it never becomes completely legal in the minds of the ignorant self-righteous politicians and their puppets. Did this caiman eat "animal crackers" after he got the munchies?
Too Funny, Screw the beware of Dog sign.. beware of Crocodile! :) sad thing was the Crocodile only wanted to watch cartoons and eat munchies! .. turns out he was a Dead Head! :) you can't make this stuff up! Life is funnier then Science Fiction!
And another dumb animal suffers at the hands of STUPID PEOPLE. No one should own a wild animal of any kind.
Hey I have an idea, is smoked caiman legal? probably not, just a thought
He got it to commemorate the anniversary of Tupac Shakur's death?!!! WTF?
I would like someone to explain to me how Christains are trying to hurt people..... Oh please explain this to me... and don't bring politics into this..... religion has nothing to do with that.
If you know the true teachings of Jesus Christ then you already know that he wants nothing but harmony and peace throughout the world. He wants you to treat your neighbor as if he was your brother and so forth.
People that come in here spewing hate towards god and Christians are sadly missinformed and for lack of a better word ignorant.
Meanwhile, no "guard caiman" is needed in Washington and Colorado where people understand that marijuana is a plant that does 100 times more good than bad. Here's to hoping the rest of the United States wises up!
he died of weed withdrawal. too many weed injections.
So the was fine, but died over night... I smell a rat
I'm really trying but I just can't make myself feel "sad" that thing is dead.
Mr. Teeth would probably still be alive if those dirty porkers minded their own business...that being said...he's probably better off, even if the cops did him in.
My guess is the owner shoved another 34 pounds of cannabis down this throat and led to the beasties demise. Or maybe he had some LSD and threw that and other assorted drugs on hand into the animal before being apprehended. Poor animal OD'd pure and simple! They could light him up hoist him up and inhale through his anus! WOWEEE~it might catch on and end up (no pun intended) extincting the alligators, caymans etc.
eating weed is harmless. may as well be eating straw. heat is needed to draw out the thc, which is the compound that causes intoxication.
aww. but he was 16. long lived mr. teeth.
They should name a marijuana strain after Mr. Teeth
I'm sorry to read Mr. Teeth died. He was a good actor on The A Team. He looks different in the picture. Wouldn't recognize him in person. I bet he was a teddy bear. I guess we all get old.
Crococaymangator could be a new breed? Is it possible to cross breed those species??? Any zoologists out here who know??? No ignoramuses need reply!
Ever notice how, once you get the government involved, it all goes to hell in a handcart? That thing was doing JUST FINE 'til the cops came long. Now it's dead.
I tell you, cops will eff up a wet dream, they will.
Far out! Bobby Marley would have been amused with this report.
That kaiman looks like Nancy Pelosi.
deprogram is right. The cops should be charged with animal cruelty. They had maced, ta-zed and beaten the cayman to near death instead of calling the SPCA. I had a cayman a long time ago so I know that it is a very strong animal. It was fun to watch him chased after the mouse inside my 150 gal temper glass tank. I was amazed that the mouse was running on the water surface!!!
We need to ban these assualt caimans.
When Caimans are outlawed only outlaws will have Caimans.
LEGALIZE IT