Emotional Support Animals (ESA) come in many forms, but for one man from Washington County, Pennsylvania, reptiles gave him the most support. And it’s not just any reptile, because he chose a 5-foot-long alligator to be his companion during Walmart runs. This went on for 3.5 years without incident, until suddenly, the local Walmart in Pennsylvania decided that enough was enough and banned the poor alligator from their premises.
This sad incident happened to 60-year-old Wesley Silva and his 4-year-old alligator, Jinseioshi. Silva and Jinseioshi were routinely visiting their local Walmart in West Brownsville, Pennsylvania, as they had been for 3.5 years, until September 10th. From that day onward, Jinseioshi is no longer allowed and was kicked out of Walmart, much to Silva’s distress. The Pennsylvania Walmart has since released a statement on the matter:
“The safety of our customers and associates is our highest priority. We welcome service animals in our stores, but it is unacceptable to expose members of the public to potential danger,” according to Walmart, transcript courtesy of NBC News
Silva, on the other hand, swears that Jinseioshi is a safe and docile animal to be around and that, prior to the Walmart ban, the reptile received unanimous praise. Jenseioshi has seemingly become domesticated, even wearing sweaters while riding shopping carts all over Walmart with Silva. As for why Silva chose an alligator to be his ESA, well, it’s simply what his heart wanted. He even has a Komodo dragon (which is venomous) in his mini-zoo.
“We have been going to that Walmart for about 3½ years, and normally the reaction is ‘That’s pretty cool’ or ‘That is awesome that you have a pet alligator, man!… In the Bible, God talks about us having dominion over animals, and I developed an affinity for the reptiles. I find them very soothing. I held it one night and I just kind of started really bonding with it and holding it,” according to Silva
Sadly, it seems Walmart’s decision is final, and Silva and Jinseioshi will have to find another local Walmart or perhaps even change their brand loyalty, as it’s not clear whether other Walmarts in Pennsylvania will allow Jinseioshi in. The alligator’s label as an ESA, however, has sparked a debate online about ESAs.
People online are torn on the matter
On one hand, Jinseioshi seems like a good boy, but on the other hand, alligators are not exactly the best choice for domestication, as they are primarily carnivorous. Besides, there are many other reptiles that Silva could’ve picked as an ESA, such as lizards, and they’d likely be less expensive to maintain. In any case, people from Reddit have shared their opinions on the matter.
“I’m so tired of people thinking they can bring their ’emotional support animals’ everywhere and putting them in shopping carts etc. ESAs are not trained service animals. They put other people and actual service animals at risk.”
“It’s smiling! And it loves children! It’s more of a nanny alligator than anything”
“Tf? The alligator did nothing wrong.”
Thankfully, nothing outrageously discriminatory really happened, and Walmart-goers are likely just scared of alligators. It’s not like Jinseioshi would mind what kind of supermarket he visits anyway. Hence, some people online were more lighthearted about the matter and have taken a crack at their own alligator jokes. With that said, perhaps Silva might find luck and less reptilian discrimination in Florida.
“Its still welcome to Florida’s Walmarts, right?”
“A Florida Walmart would never ban an alligator. It’s unthinkable”
“I wonder how many customers walked past that gator thinking they were just tripping extra hard that day.”
