For nearly 10 years a man in Pennsylvania has had an emotional support alligator. As he told The Philadelphia Inquirer five years ago, “You know, whatever works for you. Dogs and cats don’t work for me.” Since Joie Henney adopted Wally the alligator, Wally has been living his best life. He enjoys an indoor 300-gallon plastic pond at home, eats chicken wings, and “snuggles” with Henney on the couch. In the outside world Henney straps Wally into a harness and they go to fairs, public fountains, and baseball games (well, when not denied entry). I’m fairly 100% certain this alligator has more of a social life than I do. So Wally and his person Henney were visiting Georgia last week, when one morning Henney woke up to greet Wally in his outdoor, fenced-in enclosure… only Wally was gone! And he’s still missing! Who could’ve predicted that interstate travel with an alligator on a leash could go wrong…
What Henney thinks happened: Now Henney said he is distraught after Wally vanished while accompanying him on an April vacation in Brunswick, Georgia, a port city 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Savannah. He said he suspects someone stole Wally from the fenced, outdoor enclosure where Wally spent the night on April 21. In social media posts, Henney said pranksters left Wally outside the home of someone who called authorities, resulting in his alligator being trapped and released into the wild. “We need all the help we can get to bring my baby back,” Henney said in a tearful video posted on TikTok. “Please, we need your help.”
Wally is doctor-endorsed for emotional support: The man from Jonestown, Pennsylvania, has previously said he obtained Wally in 2015 after the alligator was rescued in Florida at the age of 14 months. Henney told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2019 that Wally helped alleviate depression following the deaths of several close friends. He said a doctor treating his depression had endorsed Wally’s status as his emotional support animal. “He has never tried to bite no one,” Henney told the newspaper.
A ‘nuisance alligator’: No one has filed police reports about the missing alligator in Brunswick and surrounding Glynn County, according to spokespersons for the city and county police departments. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources confirmed that someone in the Brunswick area reported a nuisance alligator on April 21 — the day Henney said Wally went missing — and that a licensed trapper was dispatched to capture it. The agency said in a statement that the gator was “released in a remote location,” but stressed that it doesn’t know if the reptile was Wally.
State laws on alligators vary: It’s illegal in Georgia for people to keep alligators without a special license or permit, and the state Department of Natural Resources says it doesn’t grant permits for pet alligators. Pennsylvania has no state law against owning alligators, though it is illegal for owners to release them into the wild, according to its Fish and Boat Commission. David Mixon, a wildlife biologist and coastal supervisor for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, has handled plenty of alligators reported in people’s yards and swimming pools. … He said even alligators that seem docile can be dangerous, and he always makes sure to hold their mouths closed with a hand or, preferably, a band. “They’re unpredictable, and they’re often reactive to stimulus,” Mixon said. “There’s lots of videos and pictures where people handle gators, and they do it without getting hurt. But the more time you spend around them, the more likely you are to be injured.”
Emotional support vs service animals: In areas where people can legally own alligators, it is possible for them to be considered emotional support animals, said Lori Kogan, a psychologist and Colorado State University professor who studies interactions between humans and animals. Unlike service animals that help people with disabilities such as blindness or post-traumatic stress, emotional support animals have no special training, Kogan said. They also don’t have any official registry, though health professionals often write letters of endorsement for owners with a diagnosed mental health condition.
First of all, Wally is frickin’ adorable! I never thought I’d say that about an alligator not animated by Disney, but here we are. I swear it looks like he’s smiling in several of his Instagram pics, and he sure does seem to love being held by anyone and everyone. In a post on Facebook, Henney laid out more of what he’s pieced together: he says Wally was stolen by a “jerk who likes to drop alligators off into someone’s yard to terrorize them.” Then a trapper was called in who later released Wally into a large swamp with 20 other gators. I have several questions. For starters, what confluence of circumstances must develop for someone’s hobby to be stealing alligators to terrorize strangers with? And furthermore, how is this person at large?! It strikes me as a very specific criminal profile (at least I really hope so). And as for Wally — that baby can’t be in a swamp anymore, he’s a house alligator! I’m worried. I just keep picturing Wally going, “anyone wanna snuggle?” and it… not going over well.