Man says emotional support alligator helps his depression

YORK HAVEN, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania man says his emotional support alligator helps him deal with his depression. Joie Henney, 65, said his registered emotional support animal named Wally likes to snuggle and give hugs, despite being a 5-foot-long alligator. The York Haven man said he received approval from his doctor to use Wally as his emotional support animal after not wanting to go on medication for depression.

“I had Wally, and when I came home and was around him, it was all OK,” he said. “My doctor knew about Wally and figured it works, so why not?”

Wally was rescued from outside Orlando,FL, at 14 months old and is still growing; Henney said Wally could be 16 feet long one day. Henney says Wally eats chicken wings and shares an indoor plastic pond with a smaller rescue alligator named Scrappy. Wally has never bitten anyone and is even afraid of cats, according to Henney.

Henney acknowledged that Wally is still a dangerous wild animal and could probably tear his arm off, but says he’s never been afraid of him. Henney frequently takes Wally out for meet-and-greets at places like senior centers and minor-league baseball games. “He’s just like a dog,” Henney told a woman at a recent outing to a senior center. “He wants to be loved and petted.”

https://www.apnews.com/a8c1d60be2b04f6d9351631813da7723