Brace yourselves, this is an alligator story that has absolutely nothing to do with Florida.
Twitter absolutely lost its mind over the weekend when Joie Henney allowed his emotional support alligator, WallyGator, to have some fun at Love Park in Philadelphia.
This short clip shows Wally walking with a young girl through the splashpad, which is full of other children and some adults.
\u201cYou don\u2019t see this everyday! Video shows a girl walking an alligator on a leash in Philadelphia. \ud83d\udc40\ud83d\udc0a Local media said WallyGator is apparently an emotional support alligator from a local reptile rescue. \ud83e\udd7a https://t.co/TYQQVaTzJF\u201d— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7 Eyewitness News) 1661798518
Interestingly, people seemed to take the fact federally registered emotional support alligators exist pretty easily.
It was how this particular emotional support alligator—a young male named Wally Gator—was existing that people took a bigger issue with.
Video shows the gator being walked by a child and hanging out in the splash pad area with children. Reports in the Philly Voice indicate Wally was also passed around to multiple strangers to be pet and walked.
Wally's mouth was not secure for any of this and he had no protection on his feet or underbelly, both of which were on hot concrete throughout his park trip. Concrete is widely considered inappropriate and damaging for reptile skin, particularly if it's too hot.
So while some people were shocked...
\u201c\ud83d\ude33\ud83d\ude33\ud83d\ude33\ud83d\ude33... This is cool and terrifying at the same time\u201d— Craven \ud83e\udd18\ud83c\udf83\ud83e\udd18 (@Craven \ud83e\udd18\ud83c\udf83\ud83e\udd18) 1661801857
\u201cTHERE IS A KID WITH A PET GATOR IN LOVE PARK FOUNTAIN AND I AM QUESTIONING REALITY IT SELF OWO #Furrydelphia2022\u201d— Inktail, Nommer of Pillows (@Inktail, Nommer of Pillows) 1661535719
...others seemed annoyed about the situation.
To them, this was an unnecessary health risk for both the humans and for Wally the alligator.
As usual, Twitter had no problems sharing opinions.
\u201ci am SCREAMING\nin NO world is it appropriate to take an alligator in public without banding its mouth, let alone let randos hold it. This is a huge public safety risk. Even if the handler "knows" the alligator's behaviors, they've handed it to random people without mouth control.\u201d— three lizards stacked in a trench coat (@three lizards stacked in a trench coat) 1661557687
\u201c@ABC7 Exotic animals should not be pets\u201d— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7 Eyewitness News) 1661798518
\u201cStupid idea. This is a wild animal. I hope we won\u2019t be reading about a tragedy involving this alligator months or years from now. Humans forever thinking they\u2019re smarter and more supreme than other life on the planet. #Respect. https://t.co/DAM6bSxoX9\u201d— Roxanne La Roc (@Roxanne La Roc) 1661717924
\u201cThis is how people lose their lives. https://t.co/zLLv6hc7rO\u201d— Pamela R. Lightsey, PhD (@Pamela R. Lightsey, PhD) 1661795808
Mind you, just because people dislike the way Henney handles Wally, doesn't mean people don't love the gator.
It's because people are #TeamWally that they get so irritated with the way he is managed.
People love the gator—they're out here cheering for him in the best ways.
\u201cWallyGator is a very photogenic fellow \n\nHis emotional support animal is an alligator. They sleep in the same bed. https://t.co/Nkm6uYPDNn\u201d— The Yummish Faith (@The Yummish Faith) 1661864394
\u201c@johnmtaylor @dcsportsbog He finna have some people skinned boots in a few years \ud83d\ude02\u201d— John Taylor (@John Taylor) 1661857310
\u201cfully obsessed with the emotional support gator of love park\u201d— m\u00e9nage \u00e0 garage (@m\u00e9nage \u00e0 garage) 1661606665
Henney isn't too concerned with what people have to say about how he handles WallyGator.
He believes he "knows" the gator and the animal doesn't need to have his mouth secured in order to be passed around to strangers with no handling experience. He also doesn't seem worried about any liability or possible danger to Wally.
Henney says alligators are actually easier to train than dogs.
Wally's journey as an emotional support animal started when Joie Henney began struggling with his mental health.
Rather than take the medications his doctor suggested, Henney opted to lean into his love of animals—specifically Wally the alligator. Henney and his family agree the change has been drastic, and WallyGator does seem to behave more like a dog than an alligator.
You can watch a segment about the pair here.
Still, Twitter doesn't seem overly comfortable with the way this wild animal is living.
