A Pennsylvania man revealed he registered an alligator as his emotional support animal and even shared a bed with the reptile.
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Joseph Henney,69, and his seven-year-old emotional support animal WallyGator spend every moment together, from giving kisses to sleeping in the same bed at night. He explained to the Washington Post that WallyGator is “super sweet-natured” and loves watching television and weekly trips to the farmer’s market in Jonestown. However, this doesn’t bother Henney’s neighbors as they’re used to the pair walking together. According to state law, it is legal to own a pet alligator.
@wallythealligator Wally was invited by the restaurant to have lunch. #wallygatore #WallyGatorESA #wallytheemotionalsupportalligator ♬ original sound – WallytheAlligator
“Wally is definitely not your average crocodilian. He’s a very special gator, but I wouldn’t recommend that anyone get one. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you will get bit,” he explained.
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Henney obtained WallyGator in 2015 when a friend contacted him from Florida and asked him if he wanted to take several alligators found at a pool in Orlando. He has experience working with alligators and other reptiles by relocating them to zoos and other wildlife sanctuaries for 30 years. The woodcrafter decided to take in three baby alligators and then sent two of the gators to New Jersey and New York.
He further explained that reptiles could live for a long time, and people don’t realize that alligators require a lot of maintenance and care.
“One of the problems when someone gets an alligator for a pet is they don’t realize they’re in for a long haul. “When they get to three feet, nobody wants them. They can bite and they’re extremely hard to handle.”
Alligators also require a special diet and enrichment in order to live with humans but Henney said he noticed WallyGator acted differently from other gators since the beginning.
“I thought it was different, but I was still very cautious around him. I’ve been handling gators for years, and I’ve learned to read them,” he said. “An alligator isn’t going to attack you for no reason. I’m always careful, but I felt it was fine to let [WallyGator] roam free in the house.”
He added that the gator would act like a dog or provide emotional support whenever Henney went through depression. Later on, he registered the reptile as an emotional support animal and since then he’s been to events and gained a following on TikTok.
“I was depressed and WallyGator started to do silly things to cheer me up. When I was on the couch, he’d pull my blanket to the floor.”