Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/wallygator/

It’s not uncommon to hear about people’s emotional support animals. Dogs are a popular choice among ESA owners, but it’s possible to have other animals fill the role of an emotional support animal as well.

ESAs range from dogs to bunnies, I even went to school with a girl who had a chicken as an emotional support animal (it stayed with her in her dorm room!).

Have you ever heard of an emotional support alligator though? If you haven’t, it’s because you’ve never heard of WallyGator before!

WallyGator is a 7-year-old rescue alligator and licensed emotional support animal living in York, Pennsylvania.

Wally’s owner, Joie Henney, adopted Wally after losing several loved ones over the course of two weeks. Joie was struggling emotionally and fell into a depression. He wanted some support and that’s when he heard that Wally was in need of a new home.

Joie is familiar with gators and reptiles and knew what he was getting into and what it would take to give WallyGator a proper life. After welcoming Wally into his life, things only went up from there.

The two became fast friends and when Joie was diagnosed with cancer, Wally was right there to support him – he even accompanied Joie to his radiation therapy treatment!

@wallythealligator Wally came with me to radiation treatment today!#wallygatore #wallytheemotionalsupportalligator #WallyGatorESA ♬ Epic Emotional – AShamaluevMusic

WallyGator has become a fan favorite and has gained thousands of followers on social media.

He’s even been nominated for America’s Favorite Pet contest! He’s currently in first place in his group, but the contest still has some time left.

The winner of the contest will take home $10,000 and get a 2-page feature in InTouch Magazine!

Check out the video below to see more of Wally and Joie:

[embedded content]

You can keep up with WallyGator and Henney on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook!

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog