A Pennsylvania man with an alligator is proving that emotional support pets can be both terrifying and comforting at the same time, Daily Mail reported.

Joie Henney, 65, of Strinestown, Pennsylvania, lives with two alligators, one of which is a four-and-a-half-foot-long, registered emotional support animal called Wally.  

Henney — who had his own hunting and fishing TV show, Joie Henney's Outdoors, for more than 10 years — became Wally's owner in September 2015, after a gator-rescuing friend from Florida asked if he wanted a gator. 

Henney, who had been involved with gator rescues in Pennsylvania prior to getting Wally, told the York Daily Record that he was 'always fond of' alligators.    

When Wally arrived at Henney's home, the gator was about 14 months old, measured only about one-and-a-half feet long and was apparently scared of everything — just like a dog or cat would be in a new environment. 

Henney, who grew up on a hog farm, told the newspaper that he had to use tongs to feed Wally at first, to avoid the possibility of losing a finger or an even larger body part, although he maintains that Wally has never bitten him or anyone else. 

While he might not have been able to hand feed Wally, Henney said that he was able to pick up the gator and comfort him, though. 

It took about a month to domesticate Wally, Henney said, at which point the gator 'was like a little puppy dog' and would follow Henney around the house. 

Much like a dog, Henney said, Wally is territorial and considers and empty kitchen cupboard his home. The gator has also been known to knock over garbage cans and enjoys lying on the couch and bed and making a nest out of the blankets and sheets.