Support Van's Journey to Recovery and Home

We want to thank everyone for the outpouring of support, Help Build Van the Alligator’s Forever Home After a Miracle Rescue

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The Story:

Van is our 10-foot alligator with a gentle heart and an unbelievable will to live — and now, after losing everything, he finally has a second chance at life.

For almost a decade, Van has been part of our family. He was a rescue. He’s never been wild — he was raised in human care, completely reliant on us for love, safety, and survival. But this past year, he’s faced the fight of his life.

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We lost everything all at once.

Last year, we evacuated Van and his beloved mate, Halen, ahead of an approaching hurricane, doing everything we could to keep them safe from the storm surges. The storms passed — but something worse came after.

Florida’s waters were overtaken by a deadly bacterial bloom, a crisis that devastated marine life across the coast. Manatees, fish — and tragically, Halen — were lost.

Van became critically ill.

We were shattered. Grieving Halen, nursing Van through intensive care, and just as we thought we’d faced the worst — we were blindsided again.

We were told Van had to be relocated immediately due to an unexpected property insurance issue.

He has lived here peacefully for almost 10 years. No warning. No grace period.

No time to complete his medical diagnosis.

No safe place to take him.

No resources left.

We were devastated, running out of time — and hope.

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But then… a miracle.

On the morning of Friday, June 27, just as we had made the heartbreaking decision to humanely euthanize Van — not out of giving up, but out of love and a refusal to cause him further suffering — the final test results came in.

We finally had a diagnosis.

His vet said: “We can probably treat this.”

Just like that, the impossible became possible again. Van had a real chance to fight.

But he still had nowhere to go.

And that’s when his veterinary team — the very people who had walked this journey with us — stepped in with an act of extraordinary compassion.

They built a licensed, temporary enclosure just for him.

They knew him. They believed in him. And they gave him a safe place to land.

The most beautiful part? We still get to be part of his life.

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Now, Van needs your help.

That emergency enclosure was a rushed, costly build — and only meant to be temporary. Now, we must move forward and give Van what he’s always deserved:

A permanent, safe, and healing forever home.

Every donation will go directly toward:

Building Van’s permanent, FWC-compliant habitat

Continuing his medical care and specialized treatment

Providing environmental and safety upgrades for his long-term well-being

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Ways You Can Help:

Donate — Every dollar brings Van closer to the forever he’s fought so hard for

Share — Help spread his story to animal lovers and big-hearted people everywhere

Believe — Keep rooting for this brave, gentle soul who never gave up

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Van is family. He always has been.

And now — thanks to love, science, and a little bit of magic — he has a second chance at life.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for helping us give Van the forever he deserves.

#SaveVan #VanTheGator #ForeverHome #AnimalRescue #VanDeservesForever