Man Divorces Woman, Woman Has His 8-Foot Alligator, 'Big Mack', Forcibly Removed From Their Philly Basement
Ah yes, a heartbreak tale as old as time... Man crushes woman's heart, woman gets beloved reptile removed from his life/basement forever.
This all took place yesterday when the now (soon to be?) ex-wife, Yali, finally had enough:
"My husband had him since 2011. We've had him all these years. He's been in the basement, but now we've separated and I want him out of here."
So she called Philly's Animal Control Unit and the removal-quest began…
And major kudos to whichever officer dropped the "You're under arrest, you have the right to remain silent," Dad Joke as they finished tying him up. 10/10, I laughed.
Gotta say, I'm glad the woman put an end to this because 12 years in that shitty basement sucks. Zero sunlight for a reptile is probably torture, and I'm no expert but that doesn't seem like nearly enough space or water. Thankfully a sanctuary in Michigan has volunteered to take Big Mack in, and the place looks great.
Worth noting, gators aren't illegal to own in PA and the only regulation is, "Just please for the love of Ben Franklin don't release them into the wild." So it's not like the guy had no choice because of the law, he was just so worn down I guess it had to be more of a, "Fine, you win, take him away."
Though this may have been an odd case for the city's animal control, it's far from the strangest creature this city's seen..