Jinseioshi, an American Alligator, at a Walmart in Pennsylvania.
Jinseioshi, an American Alligator who lives in Pennsylvania. Prior to someone complaining about her presence at Walmart in August 2025, she went to the store many times with her owner, Wesley Silva.
Jinseioshi, an American Alligator who lives in Pennsylvania.
Jinseioshi the American alligator with her owner, Wesley Silva.
Jinseioshi the American alligator. She spent years going to Walmart in Pennsylvania with her owner, Wesley Silva. When someone complained about her being in a store in August 2025, Walmart said she was no longer allowed to enter.
Wesley Silva with his emotional support American alligator, Jinseioshi.

An emotional support alligator who has spent the past few years going to church, restaurants, and grocery stores can no longer go to Walmart after a customer complained.

The female American alligator named Jinseioshi (pronounced Jin-say-oh-she) has been going to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area Walmart stores in West Brownsville and Washington for years, her owner, 60-year-old Wesley Silva, told USA TODAY.

Silva says the reptile became certified as an emotional support animal through US Service Animals in early 2022.

“It was a one time thing, and her ID and certificate is good for her life,” Silva told USA TODAY.

But in late August, a woman shared photos of the alligator with television station WPXI. The woman, who didn’t want to be identified, told the station that she couldn’t believe what she saw.

“I looked and I saw this alligator dressed up, standing in there, and his mouth was sticking out of the buggy. I didn’t believe it,” she told the outlet.

Since then, Walmart has banned the alligator from entering its stores. The company said in a statement to USA TODAY on Sept. 18 that it made the decision to ban Jinseioshi the alligator when customers expressed concerns.

The company said it values the bond between people and their pets, but that only service animals recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) can enter Walmart.

And according to the ADA, service animals are “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.” Also included in a separate rule are miniature horses.

Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, said in a statement to USA TODAY on Sept. 19 that gators are not legitimate service animals under the ADA.“The DOJ updated these regulations in 2008 to clarify qualified service animals, in response to efforts to treat monkeys and other animals as service animals,” Dhillon said. “It is not helpful to Americans with legitimate disabilities and trained service animals, to attempt to insert exotic or dangerous pets into such roles. Finally, emotional support animals are not considered service animals within the meaning of the ADA.”

What led to the alligator getting banned from Walmart?

The Walmart ordeal began in late August. Silva said he was grocery shopping, and a few customers stopped him to see the alligator. People tend to react kindly but curiously to her, asking if she’s real, Silva said. They also ask questions about her, like whether she bites, how big she will get, and more. They ask to take photos and pet her too.

That day in late August, the woman who later complained about the alligator saw others interacting with her.

“She waited until they left, and then she snapped a picture and she sent it to WPXI,” Silva told USA TODAY. “That's how it all began.”

Silva said on Sept. 12, managers in the store told him he could continue bringing her into the store the way he had been doing, but that she couldn’t walk around the store. However, during a recent visit, the company’s asset protection team approached him and said otherwise.

“They just read Walmart's policy on having other animals,” he said, adding that they were pleasant and just wanted to make sure he knew about the policy.

Silva was surprised when he realized someone had an issue with him taking her to Walmart, and another argument against Jinseioshi’s routine is that she shouldn’t be a pet and should be released into the wild.

“She’s not a domesticated animal like a cat or a dog, but being captive bred, they lack a lot of instincts,” he said. “She doesn’t have the real hunter’s instinct. She is not a wild animal.”

Now, he’ll likely leave her in the car or order pickup groceries, he said.

Emotional support alligator is comfortable around other shoppers, owner says

Jinseioshi, who is 7 years old, weighs about 32 pounds, and measures 5 feet long, has been with Silva since 2021. She and her owner, a pastor, live in Marianna, Pennsylvania, about 46 miles southwest of Pittsburgh.

Silva said his neighbors initially bought Jinseioshi as a gift for someone in the family. They had her for about three years, but once she got bigger, they no longer had the means to care for her.

Silva rescued her and worked with her closely and because he has children, he wanted to make sure she was comfortable around people, and most importantly, he wanted to make sure she knew people weren’t a threat to her, he said.

She did nip him a few times initially, but they worked on it together.

“I spent, on average, about 10 hours a day with her,” Silva told USA TODAY. “After that, she really grew on me. Not only did she get comfortable with me, but I got really comfortable with her.”

He eventually started to take her with him while he ran errands. She has even gone to a Denny’s restaurant, Silva said. Before taking her inside the Belle Vernon restaurant, he asked staff members if it was OK. They said it was fine for her to come inside as long as she’s not walking around. The employees “were just smitten with her,” and invited her back, he said.

Pennsylvania alligator is a mix between ‘an active infant and a very slow puppy,’ owner says

Silva said Jinseioshi is quite the curious animal.

“I describe her as a cross between an active infant and a very slow puppy,” he told USA TODAY. “Everything that she does is deliberate. She doesn't waste much energy doing things, so she'll kind of pick up her head and scope out the whole room, and then decide where she's going to go.”

She is on a fresh meat diet, and she gets most of her calcium from bone-in meat. She eats chicken, beef, pork, and her favorite – lamb.

She is fine around other animals too, Silva said. One of his daughters has cats and they “just kind of agree not to bother each other,” he said.

Silva said alligators like Jinseioshi are smart and good problem-solvers. She follows verbal comments, she scratches if she wants to go out the house or come back inside, and when one of his kids opens the front door to let her inside, he goes right in.

He said anything can happen with animals. Last month, a dog ran into a Walmart store and hid in the produce section, prompting shoppers to try to get it out, reported the Durango Herald.

She has been to hospitals, and even a kindergarten class with 22 students, he said. He only let the kids whose parents approved it pet her.

“They were feeling her feet and moving her tail, and they were feeling the scales on her back and everything,” he said. “She just kind of laid there. She was completely comfortable.”

Those wanting to keep up with Silva and Jinseioshi can follow them at www.tiktok.com/@userjinseioshiandfriends and www.lemon8-app.com/@userjinseioshiandfriends.

This story has been updated to add information.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Walmart banned an emotional support alligator. Her owner says she means no harm.

Reporting by Saleen Martin, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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