Joie Henney, a Pennsylvania man who credits his pet alligator Wally for helping him cope with depression for nearly a decade, is now searching for the reptile after it went missing during a vacation to the coast of Georgia. Henney has gained a large following on social media, where he posts photos and videos of people interacting with Wally, his 5 1/2-foot (1.7 meter) emotional support alligator.
Henney believes that someone may have stolen Wally from the fenced, outdoor enclosure where the alligator spent the night on April 21 in Brunswick, Georgia. In social media posts, he mentioned that pranksters left Wally outside someone’s home, resulting in the alligator being trapped and released into the wild.
Henney obtained Wally in 2015 after the alligator was rescued in Florida at 14 months old. He has said that Wally helped alleviate his depression following the deaths of several close friends, and a doctor treating his depression had endorsed Wally’s status as an emotional support animal.
While it is illegal in Georgia for people to keep alligators without a special license or permit, Pennsylvania has no state law against owning them. However, it is illegal for owners to release them into the wild.
David Mixon, a wildlife biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, warns that even alligators that seem docile can be dangerous and unpredictable. In Florida, which is home to an estimated 1.3 million alligators, there have been more than 450 cases of unprovoked alligator bites since 1948, including six fatal incidents since 2014.
While it is possible for alligators to be considered emotional support animals in areas where people can legally own them, they do not have any special training or official registry, unlike service animals that assist people with disabilities.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.