Philadelphia, PA – Last week, a man and his emotional support animal were denied entry to a Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park…the animal in question is an alligator named Wally. Joie Henney relies on his gator to help him combat depression.
Wally and Henney have been together since 2015. They have a popular TikTok account with nearly 120k followers and Henney says that Wally is “incredibly sweet-natured.”
Wally’s TikTok account is full of videos showing him happily hugging people…being carried and looking perfectly content to give and receive love.
But ballpark personnel were steadfast…Wally could not come in.
🚨#WATCH: As a baseball Fan was Denied Entry into Phillies Game after Attempting to Bring Emotional Support Alligator
📌#Philadelphia | #PA
On Wednesday, a fan was denied entry to Citizens Bank Park when he tried to bring in an emotional support alligator named Wally. Wally… pic.twitter.com/oVdYwxBws9
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) September 28, 2023
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that’s amazing. goes to show you that every animal deserves respect and love. Wally is so tame it’s unbelievable. i understand the ball park not wanting liability in case he bit someone. but it is very cool seeing him being so docile.
This guy was just looking for some publicity and attention and it was a stunt nothing more. Nobody in their right mind could possibly think they would be allowed to bring a alligator inside a sports park with thousands of other people. And while we are on the subject, the trend of emotional support animals has gotten out of control and most of it is just BS. Just a way to get people’s beloved pets into restaurants, theaters, etc. It’s a loop hole to the law and people are taking advantage of it. Sure there are really veterans in need of a support dog, but it’s not like they couldn’t go to the grocery store for 30 mins without having their dog.
as anything else people can take advantage of anything. that’s why humans are some of the most destructive creatures on earth. make no mistake police, military, people with emotional issues such as depression rely on these animals for support. there are even ones who can sense when their owner is in distress or medical emergency. so they absolutely serve a purpose and who is to say who we choose to trust and love. i understand that Wally is a wild animal first but you also can’t dismiss this animals docile demeanor. i watched some of his videos and it is amazing that an alligator could be so loving. i understand the ballpark not going along with it but who is to say how that animal effects his owner who is a veteran as well.
Remember the peacock a woman tried to get on a plane as an “emotional support animal”? People must exercise some common sense. Yes, the alligator is docile with the owner; but when put in amongst a huge crowd of people, making for a very stressful environment? Nope.
Think of the animal, for heaven’s sake. Such an event is not normal nor desirous for poor Wally. Sometimes docile dogs can’t handle that, and they’re higher up in the “evolutionary” scale.