(CNN) Some people have spiders lurking in their basement. Others, maybe rats. This Ohio woman tops them all.

Police received an unusual tip last week in Madison Township directing them to her basement.

Once there, they discovered a fully grown, 5-foot-long American alligator.

"I've never seen anything like that in my 17 years in the department," Madison Township Police Commander Darrell Breneman told CNN.

Authorities took the 25-year-old alligator to an animal sanctuary in South Carolina.

The homeowner said her son bought the gator at a reptile flea market 25 years ago and had kept it in the basement ever since, police said.

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