NY Man Ends Fight to Reclaim His ‘Emotional Support Alligator’
New York DEC via AP,
An upstate New York man has dropped his legal effort to reclaim an alligator he had lived with for more than 30 years after state officials confiscated the animal.
Tony Cavallaro had been suing the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation after officers arrived with a warrant at his home in Hamburg, a suburb of Buffalo, in March 2024. During that operation, authorities sedated the large reptile—an approximately 12-foot, 750-pound alligator known as Albert—and removed it from the property using a van.
Albert had spent decades living inside an indoor swimming pool at Cavallaro’s residence before being taken into state custody. He was later relocated to a sanctuary in Texas.
According to state officials, Cavallaro’s permit to keep the alligator had expired in 2021. The agency also said that even prior to the expiration, the situation violated regulations for dangerous animals because Cavallaro had allowed other people to pet Albert and even enter the pool with him.
Cavallaro challenged the state’s refusal to renew his license and fought to regain custody of the animal. However, he said he decided to abandon the case after nearly two years of legal battle, explaining that it had become emotionally and financially draining with no realistic chance of success. He said continuing the fight would likely mean many more months of stress and expense, with little hope the outcome would change.
State authorities have also said the alligator had serious health issues, including blindness in both eyes and spinal complications. Cavallaro has maintained that Albert was gentle and never displayed aggression, describing him as “just a big baby.” He originally purchased the animal at a reptile show in Ohio when it was only a few months old and came to see it as an emotional support companion.
Cavallaro says he has not seen Albert in person since the seizure, though he has been shown photographs. He described feeling persistent anger and a sense of loss over the situation, saying he does not expect to find peace about what happened.
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