Pennsylvania, USA: Wally, a 5.5 foot long, 8-year-old alligator was classified as an emotional support animal (ESA) albeit a very unusual ESA. Any animal can be an ESA but they have to be domesticated in order to get along in public places and when meeting people. Wally was domesticated and he has behaved impeccable by all accounts.
“He has never tried to bite no one” 💕😃
said Joie Henney
He emotionally supported Joie Henney and became pretty well known until he was stolen on 21st April, 2024, from a fenced, outdoor enclosure while Henney was on holiday last month in Brunswick, Georgia.
As expected, Henney is very keen to find Wally. However, this may prove to be incredibly difficult as he appears to be in the wild.
“We need all the help we can get to bring my baby back” Henney said in a tearful video on TikTok. Henney regards himself as Wally’s dad.
Henney believes that Wally’s abductors left him outside someone else’s home as a prank from where the authorities trapped him after the home owner called them for help.
Wally was later released into the wild. The current state of play is that the Georgia Department of Natural Resources received a report of a ‘nuisance’ alligator on April 21st in the Brunswick area and a licensed trapper trapped him.
The department confirmed in a statement that an alligator had been ‘released in a remote location’. They did not confirm that it was Wally although it seems likely.
Comment: there are some loose ends such as ‘Are the police investigating the technical theft of Wally?’ He was stolen and then abandoned. But that does not remove the theft aspect of this case. It would now seem unlikely that Wally will be found unless the alligator released was not Wally. There is the added question as to whether Wally will survive in the wild as he is a domesticated animal used to the comforts of home.
RELATED: Wobbly and blind therapy cat provides emotional support to 88-year-old cancer patient – this is the more typical ESA story. They are important animals improving the lives of many people.
