A Pennsylvania resident, who credits relief from his depression to an alligator named Wally, reported that the reptile went missing while the family was vacationing on the Georgia coast. According to a report in The Independent, Wally, the 'emotional support alligator', was released into a swamp.
Wally is popular for being an emotional support pet and has dedicated social media pages with thousands of followers.
In a post on social media, Wally's owner Joie Henney shared more than a week ago that his pet reptile had been stolen. Since then, Mr. Henney has updated Wally's Facebook page about the alligator's disappearance. Sharing a photo of Wally, Mr Henney revealed that the reptile was stolen from his enclosure in the early hours of April 21.
He wrote: “Help is needed!!!! Wally was stolen…no, this is not a joke. He was taken from his cage on Sunday the 21st sometime between 4:30 AM and 7:00 AM while in Brunswick Georgia. Searches have been carried out in vain. If anyone sees or hears anything, please contact Joie directly. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.”
In another Facebook post, Mr. Henney revealed that Wally had been stolen by pranksters, who left the alligator at the home of someone who called the authorities. He added that this led to the alligator being captured and released into the wild.
He wrote: 'Alright everyone, I'm going to explain things as best I can. Wally is stolen by an idiot who likes to drop alligators in someone's yard to terrorize them. Once discovered, they called DNR, DNR then called a trapper. The trapper came to pick up Wally and dropped him off that same day in a swamp with about twenty other alligators. The swamp is very large and the trapper said the chances of them finding Wally are slim to none. But this is Wally…Joie and friends are currently heading to the swamp to search and will continue to do so daily. We just pray with the other alligators present that Wally is doing well. We are not releasing the location at this time. If anyone would like to help with the search, please contact Joie directly for more information. Please keep praying because we need a miracle. Thank you all for your love and support.”
Mr Henney also shared a detailed note, thanking the public for its support.
The independent report claimed that efforts to find the alligator as of Wednesday had been unsuccessful.