The man says his emotional support alligator, known for its large social media audience, has gone missing

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A Pennsylvania man who credits an alligator named Wally with helping ease his depression for nearly a decade says he is looking for the reptile after it went missing while vacationing on the Georgia coast .

Joie Henney has thousands of social media users who follow his pages dedicated to Wally, the cool-headed companion he calls his emotional support alligator. He has posted photos and videos online of people petting the 1.7-meter-long alligator like a dog or hugging it like a teddy bear. Wally’s popularity soared to new heights last year when the alligator was denied entry to a Philadelphia Phillies game.

Now Henney says he is distraught after Wally disappeared 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 gated 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, causing his alligator to be 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 on TikTok. “Please, we need your help.”

Henney said he didn’t have time to talk when The Associated Press reached him by phone Wednesday morning. He did not immediately return follow-up messages.

The Jonestown, Pennsylvania, man has previously said he got Wally in 2015 after the alligator was rescued in Florida when he was 14 years old. Henney told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2019 that Wally helped alleviate depression after the deaths of several close friends. He said a doctor who treated his depression endorsed Wally’s status as his emotional support animal.

“He never tried to bite anyone,” Henney told the newspaper.

No one has filed police reports about the missing alligator in Brunswick and surrounding Glynn County, according to spokespeople 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 the alligator. The agency said in a statement that the alligator was “released at a remote location” but emphasized that it does not know if the reptile was Wally.

It is illegal in Georgia for people to keep alligators without a special permit, and the Department of Natural Resources says it does not grant permits to alligators. Pennsylvania has no state law banning the ownership of alligators, although it is illegal for owners to release them into the wild, according to the Fish and Boat Commission.

David Mixon, a wildlife biologist and coastal supervisor for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, has treated many alligators found in people’s yards and swimming pools. He has also featured alligators held in captivity in presentations for school groups and Boy Scouts.

He said even alligators that seem docile can be dangerous, and he always makes sure to keep their mouths closed with a hand or, preferably, a strap.

“They are unpredictable and often react to stimuli,” says Mixon. “There are many videos and photos of people handling alligators, and they do it without getting hurt. But the more time you spend with them, the more likely you are to get hurt.”

Conservationists in neighboring Florida, home to an estimated 1.3 million alligators, have recorded more than 450 cases of unprovoked alligators biting people since 1948. That includes more than 90 alligator bites since 2014, six of which were fatal.

In areas where people can legally own alligators, they may be considered emotional support animals, says Lori Kogan, a psychologist and professor at Colorado State University who studies interactions between people 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 have no official registry, although health professionals often write letters of support for owners with a diagnosed mental illness.

“People can become very attached to all kinds of animals,” says Kogan. “Can you become attached to a reptile? Can it bring you comfort? I would say yes. I personally? No.”