Explained: Who is Wally, the emotional support alligator, seen chilling at US park?

It is not every day that you find an alligator at a park. Which is why the video of one seen on a leash at a park in Philadelphia went viral. Many bystanders were taken aback by the sight of Wally, an emotional support gater, being walked by a girl at Love Park.

He also likes being held?? His main caretaker seems to be a young girl so I’m not posting pics of her pic.twitter.com/eLPR64IGKM

— Britt (@brimil) August 26, 2022

Let’s take a closer look at Wally and the concept of emotional support animals: Meet Wally Seven-year-old WallyGator is a “licensed emotional support animal”, says his TikTok profile which is followed by 68,100 users, as per New York Post.

Wally’s TikTok videos feature him going on leashed walks, swimming with humans and letting people offer him hugs and kisses.

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Wally’s owner Joie Henney reportedly operates a reptile rescue in Pennsylvania, one of the states in the US where it is not illegal to keep an alligator as a pet. Wally, who hails from Pennsylvania’s City of York,  is providing emotional support to Henney, who is being treated for cancer, CNN reported. Henney runs several accounts on social media for his pet gator Wally who “loves to give hugs”, reports New York Post. Wally’s walk to remember On 26 August, Wally was seen walking around and enjoying the fountain at Love park in Philadelphia. Britt Miller, who was at the park along with her baby daughter, witnessed the unexpected scene. “We were just walking by Love Park and saw this kid playing with an alligator in the fountain,” Miller told PhillyVoice. “Of course, there were a ton of people around taking pictures. The girl (who had the alligator) seemed to be with her family, who were sitting off to the side. They were super friendly. People were picking up the alligator, petting it, all sorts of stuff,” she added. [caption id=“attachment_11140071” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Wally’s walk at a US park has made him viral. Twitter/@brimil[/caption] Miller said the gator was not bothered at all by the attention he was getting and seemed “ totally calm”. Wally’s owner told CNN that their visit to Love Park panned out as he and the gator were in Philadelphia, along with his close friend Mary Johnson and her children to film a news segment. Wally’s journey to becoming emotional support gator

Wally came into his owner Henney’s life six years ago.

Henney, who has worked with alligators for 30 years, was contacted by his friend working in Florida in an area that had an overabundance of gators. Wally, who was a little over a year old and 20 inches long then, was transferred from a lagoon in Florida to Pennsylvania, CNN reported. “Wally has been quite different than any alligator I’ve ever dealt with in the past 30 years,” Henney said. “He doesn’t show anger. He doesn’t show aggression. He hasn’t since the day he was caught. We never could understand why. He’s just loveable. He sleeps with me, steals my pillows, steals my blankets. He’s just awesome,” the gator owner told CNN. Henney said he was able to get Wally certified as an emotional support animal due to the gator’s easygoing personality. [caption id=“attachment_11140061” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Wally provided provided emotional support to his owner as he underwent treatment for cancer. Facebook/Wallygator[/caption] Vote for Wally Wally is already a sensation in the US after becoming the top participant in the pet popularity contest – America’s Favorite Pet Animal Kingdom. If Wally is voted America’s Favorite Pet Animal Kingdom, he will win a $10,000 prize and get a two-page spread in InTouch Magazine, as per New York Post. The top 20 pets will be selected following the culmination of the first voting round on 1 September. What are emotional support animals? Emotional support animals (ESAs) are therapy animals that provide support and comfort to their owners fighting mental or emotional distress. ESAs are meant to provide companionship and support to their owners and are recommended by a licensed mental health professional to people suffering from a disabling mental illness, as per American Kennel Club. “These support animals provide companionship, relieve loneliness, and sometimes help with depression, anxiety, and certain phobias, but do not have special training to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities,” as per ADA National Network’s report. Emotional support animals help with attenuating distress by providing companionship, as per Verywell Mind. Dogs, cats and even miniature horses are used as emotional support animals. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.