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PHOENIX - The holidays are a time for giving, and when the time came for Phoenix firefighter Greg Hagge to find a gift for his station's holiday party, he wanted to think outside the box.
"You know what man, I want to bring a responsibility," he said.
Literally, something that can crawl out of the box.
"By the time I had thought about the idea, that iguana was back at my house in about 30 minutes," Hagge said.
Hagge gifted a lucky coworker with a 3-foot-long iguana at their white elephant party. Some thought it was a joke, while others made a run for it.
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Firefighter gifts an iguana at holiday party
A gift exchange party is typically a fun thing, but for this group of Phoenix firefighters, one present in particular had some reaching for an extinguisher.
Hagge said his first thought was…
"What's going through my mind is I'm about to get kicked out of this house," he said.
But that turned out to be the complete opposite. The iguana, whose name is still in the works, was a hot commodity.
"It almost became an arguing point, like I'm taking this home, no I'm taking this home. My kids would love this!" Hagge said.
The iguana is now in a forever home and loved by the fire department. Hagge says he already has ideas for next year's gift exchange.
"I bet it has a heartbeat," he said.
But hopefully, not causing too many more heart attacks.