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The alligator who helps a man through depression

Joie Henney doesn't care for cats, and he doesn't care for dogs. So when a therapist suggested an emotional support animal, the 65-year-old from Pennsylvania was stuck. more

The depression came after three of his friends died, one after another, within a short span of time. Joie was afraid he would never feel happy again, and he started seeing a therapist.

The answer turned up in Orlando, Florida. On a trip there, Joie rescued a baby alligator that was about to be killed, took him home and named him Wally.

Wally is 5 feet long now, with 83 sharp teeth, and he goes everywhere Joie goes. He doesn't act the way anyone expects an alligator to act. One woman wants nothing to do with him until Joie talks her into holding him.

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Joie Henney doesn't care for cats, and he doesn't care for dogs.

“He’s like one of those weighted blankets that they use for stress,” a woman says as she holds him. He gets kissed a lot, and we are told he loves it, though his face gives nothing away.

Back home in York, Pennsylvania, Wally has the run of the house and his own pool. Out in town he is a regular at the pet store and even the dollar store, and he's gentle enough that Joie takes him to a day care center.

Joie says Wally’s cuddles have helped him through his depression. “He just comes up and he just lays and cuddles,” he says. “He’ll take naps with me.”