Alligator, an unusual emotional support animal, goes missing

The number of registrations of emotional support animals in the United States reached 115,832 last year, according to an industry group’s count. But in the eyes of reptile rescuer Joie Henney, there is only one:

“Wally Gator” – his “soft” certified emotional support alligator.

And now Wally is missing – far from home.

While Henney, from northeastern Pennsylvania, was visiting Brunswick, Georgia, on April 21, Wally disappeared from his outdoor enclosure, according to Wallygator’s Facebook page.

A Georgia Department of Natural Resources “licensed trapper responded to a nuisance alligator call in Brunswick on April 21,” the agency confirmed in a statement to CNN. The creature was secured and “later released to a remote location,” said Melissa Cummings, spokesperson for the department’s Wildlife Resources Division.

“The officer’s handling of a nuisance alligator was appropriate and routine,” she told CNN. The department “routinely” receives calls about “nuisance alligators,” she said, and refers callers to a licensed alligator officer trapper, per protocols.

Whether the animal released after the April 21 call was Wally, however, remains an open question: The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has no information to confirm this — nor any further information about Wally’s whereabouts, Cummings said.

Still, the search continues.

A GoFundMe campaign that Henney organized to cover travel, consulting, and potential legal and veterinary costs for “Bring WallyGator Home!!” is almost a third of the way toward the $30,000 goal; Henney did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on Wally’s disappearance.

Wally, for his part, is no stranger to public attention. He usually interacts with fans at events in his home state, and is also the subject of popular TikTok and Instagram accounts hosted by Henney. Wally often shows off others petting and holding him, with Henney telling CNN in 2022: “He doesn’t show anger. He shows no aggression. He hasn’t done that since the day he was caught. We could never understand why.”

Henney has had Wally since the reptile was just over a year old and just 20 inches long. He sourced the creature from Florida, where there is an “abundance of alligators” and they are considered a nuisance and are often euthanized or put in captivity, he told CNN.

Still, Henney has often criticized Wally, he said, because people “don’t know the story behind everything.” In fact, Wally has provided companionship and support through Henney’s radiation treatments for cancer.

“He’s just sweet,” Henney said. “He sleeps with me, steals my pillows, steals my blankets. He’s just great.”

Pennsylvania has no law banning alligators as pets: The state Fish and Boat Commission “does not regulate the ownership of non-native species of reptiles and amphibians,” according to its website.

However, Georgia law allows “only licensed or permitted persons … to keep alligators in captivity,” Cummings said. “Most native species cannot be kept without permits. These permits are not issued for the purpose of keeping native wildlife as pets.”

And the Peach State isn’t the only place where Wally hasn’t exactly been welcomed. His fame flared up again last year when the alligator was denied entry to a Philadelphia Phillies game. According to Citizens Bank Park, all animals – with the exception of service dogs – are prohibited.

“Wally liked other baseball games, so we assumed it was OK,” Henney said. “We never asked or inquired, but they only allow service animals, such as dogs and horses, into the stadium, not (emotional) animals.”

Similarly, in 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that airlines “are not required to recognize emotional support animals as service animals.” The latter is “a dog…trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability,” while emotional support animals are prescribed by mental health professionals to provide comfort and support to their owners, but don’t have to do that. are trained in specific tasks.

Henney made it clear at the time of the Phillies’ rejection: “There was no disagreement, there was no argument, there was no conflict at all. It was all good.”

CNN’s Ben Morse, Zoe Sottile and Sara Smart contributed to this report.