What constitutes a "Therapy Animal"?

This from an Internet website: "The state of Florida requires two and a half acres of land for alligators who are at least six feet long. Rambo recently hit the six foot mark and now the state is trying to take him away from his owner of eleven years. Luckily, she's fighting back. Mary Thorn considers Rambo to be a family member. He wears clothes and has his own room. He even visits local schools to teach kids about reptiles. Mary is hoping to get him registered as a therapy animal as soon as possible. Good luck, Mary!"

Any thoughts?

A therapy animal is basically one who helps stablize you if you have depression or whatever. The pet calms you down. IF you are handicapped he helps you with things to get around and be more indepent. Mostly people here us a therapy animal as it helps with your therapy of recovery with MI of some sort. tc

Hmm... the original Rambo hardly ever wore a shirt, as i recall! So if this one actually does wear clothes...!

Roads, you have a great sense of humor!

I would imagine that an alligator wouldn't make a good therapy animal. I would be concerned that it would lash out at someone with it's jaws, which have a nice 2000 lbs per square inch of pressure on them, or thereabouts, when biting down. A gator belongs in a nice wetlands somewhere, not in somebody's living room wearing clothes.

Artchic, I saw a picture of the owner kissing Rambo on the snout!

I agree, gators need to be living in the wild doing their gator thing.

I fear it's only a matter of time before Rambo decides he's had enough and lashes out in defence. I honestly feel bad for him.

I agree. I suspect one day he will act like a gator and bite the snot out of someone. Then he'll be punished/killed for doing what comes naturally. I love critters, but wild ones deserve to live in the wild.