Man says emotional support alligator helps his depression

[Judi Lynn]

Updated 12:11 pm CST, Saturday, January 26, 2019



Photo: Heather Khalifa, AP
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Joie Henney, 65, hugs his emotional support alligator named Wally inside their home in York Haven, Pa. on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. Henney said he received approval from his doctor to use Wally as his emotional support animal after not wanting to go on medication for depression. (Heather Khalifa/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

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, he told Philly.com .

"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 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.

More:
https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Man-says-emotional-support-alligator-helps-his-13563986.php



Wally!

[Seedersandleechers]

1. That alligator is really cute!

As long as Walley doesn't miss a meal why not?

[dlk]

2. Until One Day When Wally Bites Off His Hand

Then he won’t be so cute anymore. Alligators are predators and have not been bred to be domesticated pets. In the nurture vs. nature argument, nature has not disappeared.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. I thought it was illegal to have 'pet' alligators.