Me and my croc: Sarah's blessed Airbnb pet

An Airbnb’s unique reptile attraction was the cause of chaos during an unusual church service in the Top End.

The first time Brutus the croc went to church, chaos gripped the congregation.

Sarah and son Alex took their 40cm freshwater crocodile to Christ Church Cathedral’s Blessing of the Animals service.

Among pews of cats, dogs, and parrots, Sarah said their two-year-old croc stood out from the crowd.

“The vicar said it was the first time a crocodile had been to that church,” she said.

Alex takes Brutus the croc to be blessed at the Christ Church Cathedral.

Alex said he had been holding Brutus until the slippery reptile escaped his grasp.

“The rest is self explanatory – crocodile decides, ‘hey, look, an opening, bye’, and off he goes,” he said.

“He tried to run under the altar but thankfully we got him back.”

Though Brutus sometimes bites when he’s picked up, Alex said he was “by no means a guard dog”.

But that never stopped the croc-lover’s sense of humour.

“We did have a sign that says, ‘beware of the dog’, we don’t have a dog,” he said.

“So I went outside one day, crossed it out, and put ‘crocodile’.”

Brutus is used to being picked up, but does nibble his handlers on occasion. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Sarah said Brutus was a huge hit among guests staying in the family’s 4.95-star Airbnb.

“Crocodiles are a novelty to Airbnb guests who come from down south or overseas,” she said.

“They sometimes book the Airbnb especially for that reason.

“I love watching the reaction of the little kids – they’re both fascinated and terrified, and often need reassurance to hold him or pat him.”

Airbnb owner Sarah and son Alex with croc Brutus at their Rapid Creek home. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Adopting a croc like Brutus had started out as a joke between Sarah and her husband before they moved to Darwin.

But it quickly became their family’s reality when they decided to start an Airbnb.

“Crocs are loners, but they get used to people,” she said.

“We taught ours to jump for food – we put a morsel on the end of a satay stick and hold it over his cage and Brutus swims out and jumps.”