Pastor’s emotional support alligator banned from store after shopping together for years

Wesley Silva (right) made the news after being pictured with his pet alligator Jinseioshi (left) wearing a dress at a Walmart but has been banned by the department store (Pictures: WPXI)

A man’s emotional support alligator has been barred from entering Walmart stores despite accompanying him shopping there for years.

Pastor Wesley Silva, 60, went viral with his gator Jinseioshi after he was pictured pushing the animal, wearing a dress, in a shopping cart at a Walmart in West Brownsville, Pennsylvania.

Some customers of the discount department store chain expressed awe and admiration for the 5-foot-long and 32-pound reptile, but one woman was not pleased.

‘I don’t want to shop with alligators,’ said the anonymous woman, who took photos of Jinseioshi and reported it to Walmart.

Wesley Silva has taken his emotional support alligator to restaurants (Picture: Facebook/Rowdy BBQ)

‘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 WPXI.

Jinseioshi has now been banned from entering Walmart with Silva.

‘We have been going to that Walmart for about three-and-a-half years, and normally the reaction is “That’s pretty cool” or “That is awesome that you have a pet alligator, man!”‘ Silva told NBC News on Thursday.

Walmart’s corporate website states that it ‘welcomes service animals as defined by the ADA in our stores, and we recognize the important role they play in many of our customers’ lives’.

Wesley Silva has an emotional support alligator, Jinseioshi, and several other reptiles as pets (Picture: Facebook/Baldwin Borough Public Library)

The Americans with Disabilities Act recognizes dogs and miniature horses as service animals, but not alligators.

A Walmart spokesperson confirmed that alligators are not allowed in stores.

‘The safety of our customers and associates is our highest priority,’ stated the spokesperson.

‘We welcome service animals in our stores, but it is unacceptable to expose members of the public to potential danger.’

Jinseioshi the emotional support alligator has accompanied her owner to public places including a library (Picture: Facebook/Baldwin Borough Public Library)

Silva, who serves as a pastor at a Baptist and a Brethren church, vouched for Jinseioshi, which cares for along with another gator, a Komodo dragon, a gecko, an ocellated skink, six snakes and a dog. Silva has been pictured with Jinseioshi at restaurants and a public library.

‘In the Bible, God talks about us having dominion over animals, and I developed an affinity for the reptiles,’ he said.

‘I find them soothing.’

It happened nearly two years after another man and his emotional support alligator, Wally, were refused entry into a professional baseball game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

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