#OddlyEnough:  An Alligator Would Do For Beating The Blues

ESA-Aligator
Image: WFTV

Animal Offers Emotional Support

If you are depressed, then get an alligator to help you, says a report. A Pennsylvania man says his emotional support alligator helps him deal with his depression, says the AP report.

Joie Henney, 65, said his registered emotional support animal named Wally likes to snuggle and give hugs, despite being a 5-foot-long alligator.

The York Haven man said he received approval from his doctor to use Wally as his emotional support animal after not wanting to go on medication for depression, he told Philly.com.

Wally was rescued from outside Orlando at 14 months old and is still growing; Henney said Wally could be 16 feet long one day. He says Wally eats chicken wings and shares an indoor plastic pond with a smaller rescue alligator named Scrappy.

Wally, who turns 4 this year, is a big teddy bear, in Henney’s words. The cold-blooded reptile likes to rest his snout on Henney’s, and “he likes to give hugs,” he said.

The alligator has never bitten anyone and is even afraid of cats, according to Henney.

Road Rage Man Smashes Windshield

Southern California authorities are looking for a man who jumped onto the hood of a woman’s car and smashed her windshield with his fist in a case of apparent road rage, says a report.

The Anaheim Police Department says the video of the attack was recorded from inside the car and posted on social media, says the AP report.

A department statement says the 34-year-old woman noticed a white Jeep Liberty or Cherokee following her erratically.

The Jeep driver then drove in front of the victim’s vehicle, forced her to stop and then climbed onto the hood of her car and smashed the windshield. The man then got back in his Jeep and drove away.

Police say the victim reported she had never seen the assailant before and the attack was unprovoked.

The Dangers Of Sharing A Name

Sharing the same name with famous people can be a disadvantage too, says a report.

A 47-year-old Englishwoman has seen the best and worst that Twitter would have to offer the American football player who shares her name, according to an AP report.

Dee Ford, of Kent, England, told the Kansas City Star that her “phone was going off literally non-stop” due to angry tweets from Kansas City Chiefs fans who thought they were venting at linebacker Dee Ford following his critical late penalty in AFC Championship loss to the New England Patriots. She says Ford “doesn’t deserve” the vitriol.

The player isn’t on Twitter, but he was no stranger to the Englishwoman. Five years ago when the player was still at Auburn, someone in the school’s athletic department inadvertently tagged the woman in a congratulatory tweet after the player was named most valuable player of the senior bowl. Fans responded with their own positive tweets.

She decided to learn about the game and was hooked. She has spoken to the Chiefs’ Dee Ford by phone and attended two games.

Drunk Smoker Gets A Scary Ride

The desperation for a cigarette led to a travelling man getting the shock of his life, says a report.

Police say an intoxicated German man who ducked out of a train for a cigarette during a short stop got into trouble when he tried to jump back on board between two cars after the train departed without him, says an AP report.

Police said the 33-year-old clung on to the coupling during frigid temperatures, screaming as the train headed toward Hamburg at speeds of up to 200 km per hour.

Passengers heard the man’s cries and were able to trigger an emergency stop, allowing him to be brought inside.

Authorities say he was handed over to them at the main station in Essen and was “unmistakably informed by the federal police about the mortal danger he had been in.”

Girl, 11, Allowed To Drive Car

An arrest warrant has been issued for a northern Illinois man who police say allowed an 11-year-old relative to drive herself to school in a stolen rental car while he rode along.

The Lake County News-Sun reports that employees at a Round Lake Park elementary school saw the girl pull up to the school’s drop-off point, according to an AP report.

She and a 9-year-old girl who was in the back seat exited the car. Police say 31-year-old Khafilu Oshodi of Round Lake then moved into the driver’s seat and drove away.

He’s wanted on two counts of child endangerment and driving with a suspended license.

Police said the drop-off area is very busy and the incident could’ve “resulted in any number of tragic scenarios” if the child lost control.

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