East Rockaway man explains controversy over pet wallaby

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A wallaby, owned illegally by East Rockaway resident Larry Wallach, has been treated at the Mineola Animal Hospital since it was found malnourished at Wallach’s home.
A wallaby, owned illegally by East Rockaway resident Larry Wallach, has been treated at the Mineola Animal Hospital since it was found malnourished at Wallach’s home.
Courtesy David Kolins, veterinarian

Larry Wallach was in a spinal meningitis-induced coma for three weeks and pronounced dead twice. But about three weeks ago, he regained consciousness, only to discover that his pet wallaby, Jack, had been confiscated by the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on Feb. 1.

While he was recovering, the Town of Hempstead’s Building Department issued four summonses against Wallach on Feb. 20. Two were for harboring animals, one was for construction of an in-ground pool without a permit and one was for not having a certificate of completion for a central air-conditioning unit, Town spokesman Mike Deery said.

Wallach, an exotic animal enthusiast who does 10 to 15 animal shows a year, had Jack delivered to his home by a handler after an exotic animal show in Virginia. He intended to have Jack appear at the Daytona 500, where children would feed him and learn about wallabies. After that, Wallach said, he planned to take the marsupial to a U.S. Department of Agriculture-licensed wildlife sanctuary, where he could play with kangaroos and graze in the grass. Before he had a chance to do that, though, Wallach said, he encountered his health issues.

Now, the SPCA has custody of Jack. “The wallaby was signed over to us and we already placed him in a sanctuary,” said Gary Rogers, a spokesman for the organization. Rogers added that no one should keep wildlife locally. In the Town of Hempstead, according to Deery, exotic animals, which include wallabies, are not allowed to live in residential homes or be sold at pet shops.

For 10 years, Wallach worked as a captain of the wildlife unit for the SPCA, which he calls a “great organization.” Wallach did not disclose why he no longer works for the organization, and the SPCA said "no comment" when reached by phone.

The animal was discovered without food or water in the garage of Wallach at his home on Seawane Road on Jan. 31. It was taken to the Mineola Animal Hospital, where Veterinarian David Kolins described it as “sickly.” After Jack gained weight and muscles in his legs, the SPCA moved him to an animal sanctuary.

Wallach said he signed over custody, after SPCA members confronted him, because he felt too sick to care for Jack. “When you’re sitting in your house a few days after almost dying … and someone says ‘Give us Jack,’ what are you going to do?” he said.

According to Wallach, he has been a federally licensed exotic animal owner since he was 12, and is allowed to transport such animals from state to state. The first one, he said, that he took to schools and hospitals was a cougar named Mugsy.

“Mugsy went everywhere. I took Mugsy to Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts,” Wallach said, adding that Mugsy was a smaller cougar, and relatively easier to control. Wallach also rescued some animals and found homes for them, he said. He took a tiger named Spike from its owner in Kansas because she had too many tigers. After spending 10 months caged in Wallach’s backyard, Spike was moved to the late pop singer Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in 2002. Jackson contacted Wallach after hearing about his work with animals and children, and paid for the flight so he could deliver the tiger.

Bob Pitt, who lives in Ohio, said that Wallach once helped nurse his leopard back to health after it stopped moving during a drive to New York. “If it weren’t for him, I would have lost my leopard,” Pitt said of Wallach. “No doubt about it.”

Wallach said he helped the New York Police Department during its investigation of Antoine Yates, who was arrested for keeping a Bengal tiger in his Harlem apartment. Wallach cared for the animal for several months before it was sent to Noah’s Lost Ark, an animal sanctuary in Ohio.

Now, Wallach is upset with the SPCA. “The SPCA is a great organization, but it doesn’t do everything right,” he said. “I was in a coma.”

He is scheduled to appear on April 20 at the First District Court in Hempstead, where he said he will plead guilty to harboring the wallaby. His lawyer, Charles Casolaro, intends to explain the circumstances.

In the meantime, Wallach said he wants to recover from the weakness he still feels from the coma. He said he has motor control problems in his left hand and difficulty walking. He added that once he gets better, he plans to rescue more animals, and he hopes for the best for Jack.

“All I want is for him to have a good home,” he said.