Here’s Your Chance to Search For a Celebrity
5/2/24
When I heard the story of Wally, the emotional support alligator, I was stunned to learn that a gator could be an emotional support animal (ESA). Then I was stunned to learn he was missing. Finally, I was stunned when I discovered that Wally is a TV star.
As Captain Kirk would say, “Set phasers on stun.”
Of course, any domesticated animal of any age can be an ESA (cats, dogs, mice, rabbits, birds, hedgehogs, rats, minipigs, ferrets, etc.) as long as they are manageable in public and don’t create a nuisance. The owner must have a qualifying mental health or psychiatric disability and present a prescription letter from a licensed mental health professional.
Wally and his Pennsylvania owner met all requirements. And thus, in 2019, the love story between Wally and his owner began. They traveled everywhere together, and in 2022 they began posting videos of their travels on TikTok. (@WallyTheAlligator). His owner even took him to a Philadelphia Phillies game before he was turned away. (Really, Wally? That’s your team?)
“WallyGator is an amazing creature,” his owner said. “He senses [people’s] emotions and gives hugs to try to cheer people up. He has come with me to radiation and has brought cheer to other patients and the doctors and nurses.”
But Wally’s story took a turn for the worse when his owner recently took him on a trip to Georgia, where Wally was stolen from his enclosure by a person who likes to drop gators in people’s yards “to terrorize them.” (Really? Gator-napping is a thing? I thought I was the only one who needed a new hobby.) Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources hired a trapper who captured Wally and released him into a swamp with other alligators.
That’s right, Wally the domesticated gator who gives people hugs has been dumped into a swamp like he was some kind of a…you know, gator. Although the odds are “slim to none” of finding Wally, Wally’s owner has put out a call for help in finding him. Wally has never been in the wild and doesn’t have the survival skills to exist in a habitat that doesn’t include someone feeding and caring for him.
So, if you’re in the area, if you could just head down to that Georgia swamp… Hmm. I may be busy tomorrow.
But jokes aside, if you can help poor Wally’s owner in any way, I’m sure he would appreciate it. Wally isn’t only a beloved ESA, he’s a TV star too. That’s Wally’s likeness on the poster for Disney’s TV show Loki.
Wally became so famous on social media that he caught the eye of the writer of Loki, who’d already come up with the idea of using an alligator version of Loki but needed a visual reference. So, he decided to use Wally.
So, if you’re out there Thor, and if you have a few minutes, your half-brother Loki needs your help. Can you hustle up some of the Avengers and start a search party? Thanks.
#Wallymaynotbewearingahornedhelmet
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