- Residents are asking ‘where’s Wally?’ after the gator disappeared on April 21
- His owner, Joie Henney, said he last saw his pet in Brunswick, east Georgia
- He is offering a reward of an undisclosed amount for the alligator’s safe return
A Pennsylvania man’s ’emotional support alligator’ called Wally has gone missing while they were vacationing together in Georgia.
Residents are asking ‘where’s Wally?’ after the gator disappeared on April 21.
His owner, Joie Henney, said he last saw his pet in Brunswick GA on the east coast and believes he was stolen.
Henney said he delayed filing a police report because he didn’t have the proper permit for Wally on their southern adventure.
The devastated owner is offering a reward of an undisclosed amount for the safe return of Wally.
A Pennsylvania man’s ’emotional support alligator’ called Wally has gone missing while they were vacationing together in Georgia
Henney registered his pet alligator, Wally, as an emotional support pet in December 2018. Henney likens Wally to a dog and says that the gator just wants to be ‘loved and petted’
‘I want to thank everyone for their support and their concern,’ he said in a Facebook post on Saturday.
‘Wally is very important to me as well as to a lot of other people that he makes happy and puts joy in their hearts
‘The person is very ungrateful and very mean for what they done. I just wanted to return Wally. There is a reward. No questions asked.’
Henney posted a collage of three photographs showing him cuddling Wally, who is helping him battle depression and cancer.
The longtime reptile rescuer who has worked with alligators for 30 years – received his rescue pet Wally from Florida in 2015.
He runs several social media accounts documenting the life of his beloved gator with thousands of fans.
Wally last hit the headlines when he and Henney were refused entry to a Phillies baseball game at Citizens Bank Park.
When Wally was denied access to the game, Henney stayed outside the stadium with him to greet some of his supporters and let them stroke him.
Wally was just over a year old when he arrived at Henney’s home in 2015
Joie Henney, a Philadelphia man and reptile rescuer who has worked with alligators for 30 years, was out for a walk with his pet alligator Wally at Philadelphia’s Love Park last year
Henney takes Wally around to schools and senior centers for educational reasons. Wally is seen here at Pennsylvania’s SpiriTrust Lutheran Village on January 14, 2019
Henney said he originally wanted to see if he could register Wally as a service animal, after discovering his calming effect on people with developmental issues, but settled on registering him as an emotional support animal
Henney, from Lebanon in PA, said Wally is friendly, sweet-natured and enjoys giving hugs.
Wally came into Henney’s life seven years ago as a baby gator when he was removed from a lagoon in Florida due to an overabundance of alligators.
‘There was an overabundance of gators in that area,’ Henney said, further explaining that in Florida, so-called ‘nuisance alligators’ must be either euthanized or transferred into captivity. The two have been inseparable ever since.
‘Wally has been quite different than any alligator I’ve ever dealt with in the past 30 years,’ Henney said to CNN.
‘He doesn’t show anger. He doesn’t show aggression. He hasn’t since the day he was caught. We never could understand why.
‘He’s just loveable. He sleeps with me, steals my pillows, steals my blankets. He’s just awesome.’
