April 29, 2024
@BRIMIL/X (FORMERLY TWITTER)
Wally, shown above at LOVE Park, was stolen from owner Joie Henney while he was on vacation in Brunswick, Georgia on April 21. A search is underway for the emotional support alligator, who's become an internet celebrity.
Wally, the emotional support alligator who's made a few appearances in Philly with his owner, was recently stolen from his pen during a vacation in Georgia. Unaware he had been snatched away from his owner, state wildlife officials later trapped and released Wally on a vast swath of private property. And now there is a search mission underway to find him and bring him home.
The story was recounted on Wally's Facebook page by people close to owner Joie Henney, the Dauphin County man who rescued Wally from Disney World in 2016 after he had been abandoned at the theme park. Henney fell in love with Wally's gentle disposition and had him registered as an emotional support animal, toting him around in a distinctive red harness and inviting people to interact with him.
While vacationing in Brunswick, Georgia, Henney said a thief took Wally from his enclosure some time between 4:30-7 a.m. on April 21.
"Wally was stolen by some jerk who likes to drop alligators off into someone’s yard to terrorize them," a friend of Henney's wrote on Wally's Facebook page.
When a property owner spotted Wally, he called Georgia's Department of Natural Resources to remove the gator. Officials from DNR captured Wally and then took him to an undisclosed location.
Initially, Henney and his allies said they were given information that Wally had been dropped off in a swamp populated with about 20 other wild alligators. Wally was originally bred in captivity and kept as a pet, meaning his survival would be in danger under such circumstances. Henney had been told by the trappers there was a "slim to none" chance of finding him in the swamp.
Then on Sunday afternoon, Henney said he received different information about Wally's possible whereabouts.
"We have been unsuccessful as of yet getting even an approximate location where Wally was released by the trapper. ... All we know is that it was private property not the swamp area we were originally told," according to an update on Facebook.
The 8-year-old gator garnered recognition in the Philly area after Henney took him to the spray ground at LOVE Park two years ago. Last year, Wally mingled with Phillies fans outside Citizens Bank Park, where he was not permitted entry (the Wells Fargo Center later welcomed him at a Flyers game). Wally's fame also extends far beyond the region. He has more than 134,000 followers on TikTok and was the leading vote-getter two years ago in America's Favorite Pet, a popularity contest that supports animal rescue and rehabilitation. He also made a cameo in the Apple TV series "Loki."
Henney told entertainment website the Blast that he's unsure whether someone may have targeted Wally. He said there were no cameras monitoring Wally's yard while on vacation.
"I know we have people that's often said, 'If we get a chance we're gonna get Wally and turn him back into the wild.' I truly hope they don't do that because Wally doesn't kill anything," Henney said.
Emotional support animals are believed to provide a therapeutic benefit, such as comfort or companionship, to someone with a mental or psychiatric disability. They differ from service animals, which are trained to perform specific tasks that aid people with disabilities and have more access to public spaces and businesses.
Some reptile experts have offered to help Henney recover Wally, who may need an Ace Ventura-like hero to deliver a happy ending to the story.
A GoFundMe campaign is raising money to help cover the cost of the search for Wally, along with possible legal and veterinary fees. More than $4,000 had been donated by early Monday afternoon.
