A New York man lost an unusual pet he was keeping in his swimming pool when authorities came to his home and seized his alligator.
According to a Facebook post from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, police officers apprehended the 12-foot, 750-pound pet alligator from the man’s upstate New York home this March.
“The owner of the home had built an addition to his house and installed an inground swimming pool for his roughly 30-year-old alligator, and allegedly allowed members of the public to get into the water to pet the unsecured alligator,” the post stated.
The owner, Tony Cavallaro, has had the 34-year-old alligator, whom he named Albert, since it was 2-months old. Cavallaro says that Albert has never shown any sign of aggression toward people or other animals, and he considers the giant reptile an “emotional support animal.” He said that Albert is so affectionate, he hurries to the side of the pool to greet Cavallaro’s 84-year-old mother, and he rests his head on her foot while she reads to him. He’s also seen the gator cuddled up together with his dog on the dog’s bed.
Cavallaro wants Albert back, but it doesn’t look like officials will release him. Cavallaro’s license to own the alligator expired in 2021, and he wasn’t able to renew it with the Department of Environmental Conservation.
“Even if the owner was appropriately licensed, public contact with the animal is prohibited and grounds for license revocation and relocation of the animal,” the department stated.
Albert is now being cared for by a licensed caretaker until he can be
‘Albert’, the pet alligator. Photo credit: WUFT transported to a permanent location, and the department is analyzing additional evidence to determine if they will press charges.
But Cavallaro’s neighbors and strangers on social media have rallied around him with an online petition demanding Albert’s release signed by 120,000 people. Fans have created “Free Albert” T-shirts, and one person even wrote a song, “Oh Albert, Please Come Home,” and posted the video on Facebook.
Cavallaro considers Albert a member of his family. “I’m Albert’s dad; that’s all there is to it,” he said, and he’s invested a lot in Albert’s care.
He spent $120,000 on additions to his home designed around Albert, complete with heated floors, a filtered indoor pool with a waterfall, spa jet, and tropical plants.
According to the Department of Environmental Conservation, Cavallaro lost his license in 2021 after it expired because he failed to bring the alligator’s holding area into compliance to ensure safety to the public.
