Have You Noticed This Emotional Support Alligator? Wally’s owner has reported him missing in Georgia.

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Wally Gator is a nearly six-foot-long emotional support alligator. His social media pages usually chronicle his travels around Pennsylvania, where he has visited nursing homes, frolicked in Philadelphia’s Love Park fountain, gotten up close and personal with the mayor, and been showered with affection from admirers who embrace and admire him while he wears his red harness.

However, a great deal of sincere requests for help have recently flooded these accounts: Joie Henney, Wally’s owner, said that after Wally went missing in Georgia, someone took him, recovered him, and threw him into a marsh.

According to a post on the Wallygator Facebook page on Saturday, the alligator was purportedly abducted from his jail early on April 21, when Henney and Wally were supposedly visiting with friends in Brunswick.The narrative stated the following day: “”Wally was taken by someone who likes to frighten people by leaving alligators in their yards. “”The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) called a trapper and informed the authorities after finding Wallace. After capturing Wally, the trapper let him and perhaps twenty other alligators into a marsh that same day.””

In a statement to NPR on Friday, the Georgia Department of Resources said that on April 21, a licensed trapper had responded to a “nuisance alligator report” in Brunswick and had subsequently released the animal “in a remote place.””

It was stated that the trapper treated the alligator in a “”proper and routine”” manner; nonetheless, they were unable to ascertain Wally’s identity or current whereabouts.Because there are other alligators in the vicinity, the Wallygator Facebook page urged people to “pray because we need a miracle” and to get in touch with Henney for help with the search. The location of the wetland was not disclosed on the webpage, though.

The ad stated, “”The trapper claimed the odds of locating Wally are minimal to none, and the swamp is immense.” But this is Wally here. Joie and her friends are headed to the marsh and will continue their daily hunt.””

To pay for Wally’s “”travel expenditures, advising fees, and potential legal and veterinary bills”” related to his disappearance, an internet campaign was launched. About 400 individuals had donated more than $10,000 to the cause as of Friday.

Henney was contacted by NPR for comment, but she did not respond. Still, he sent a thank you to his fans on his own Facebook page and promised an unconditional reward for Wally’s safe return.”With pictures of Wally cuddling with himself, he remarked, “Wally holds immense value for me and numerous others who experience happiness in his company.”

Wally has over 100,000 Facebook fans, 35,000 Instagram followers, and over 145,000 TikTok followers. Beyond this, he is also well-known for being the model for Alligator Loki in the Disney+ cartoon Loki.

Henney told NPR that after Wally’s September headline-grabbing story about being turned away from a Phillies game, the eight-year-old came into his life when he was around eighteen months old.

Henney, who had a history of rescuing and rehabilitating animals, initially had little interest in keeping Wally. But Wally became his own person and we became quite close.hence I clung to him,” Henney said.Henney claimed he had never seen Wally bite someone in his thirty years of managing alligators, in contrast to other gators. Wally likes to touch people’s chins and give them hugs.

Social media confirms that Wally has brought consolation to a large number of individuals, both friends and strangers. He has helped Henney through some really trying moments, such when Henney was battling prostate cancer and other family members died.

“He means as much to me as my children,” Henney said.

It is said that Wally is the first reptile to be officially certified legally as an emotional support animal. Henney had this procedure done a number of years ago on his doctor’s advice.In Pennsylvania, reptiles are permissible household pets, but they cannot be released into the wild. But according to the DNR, in Georgia, “only individuals who are licensed or permitted may keep alligators in captivity.”

Henney was informed by the DNR that he would face legal action if he discovered Wally, according to a post on Wallygator’s Facebook page on Friday. The DNR spokesperson declined to make any more comments.

Concerned supporters are currently discussing the legal and practical challenges of the situation on a Wally Gator Facebook page and brainstorming ways to find him, like contacting the governor’s office, distributing flyers locally, or enlisting TV’s Dog the Bounty Hunter.