WEBBER TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A man is fighting to get back his alligator after it was taken to an animal rescue during a recent brush with the law.
40-year-old Josh Applebaum was driving on US-10 in Webber Township when a police officer tried pulling him over for speeding.
“I panicked...I don't want to lose what’s everything to me, obviously, so I didn't stop," Applebaum told FOX 17.
Eventually, his vehicle got stuck on a path near some trees, and he was taken into police custody, along with a unique passenger— his companion alligator named Karen.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office made a light-hearted Facebook post after the incident, saying, "The passenger, "Karen" the Alligator, attempted to flee the scene, but was taken into custody after a short scuffle. Karen is not facing any charges at this time. We believe she was an unwilling participant during the incident, nor do we believe she was ever in control of the vehicle."
The incident would end up beginning a very unfortunate chapter of Applebaum's life.
“Me and Karen were out, driving around and trying to find a place to live, or just post up, essentially,” he explained.
Applebaum bought Karen from a breeder in Roseville about 13 months ago for $400.
The first night he had her in his home, he says, “I lay down on a couple of blankets and just watched her. I eventually fell asleep, and when I woke up, she was underneath me like a pillow, like she wedged herself underneath me. Ever since that day, she has slept with me every single night, for 13 months.”
The unlikely pair have gained some notoriety on Tik Tok after posting dozens of videos together.
When Applebaum was arrested, police on scene contacted April Cicchelli, of Cicchelli Second Chance Rescue and Exotics, in Lake City.
“We take in rescues in some situations like this, where animals are involved with a police situation, or a home eviction and they're left behind," Cicchelli told FOX 17.
“At our facility, our mission is to do what's best for every animal that comes through our gates.”
She says they typically have worked with the original owners of animals that come in, working with them to return home, if there is a safe environment.
"Past situations, we've actually worked with the original owners very professionally, some animals have been returned to their original owners," she explained.
Applebaum would eventually head to the rescue in Lake City with his mother.
Cicchelli says Applebaum was aggressive when he arrived, something he denies. He waited in his vehicle while police showed up to oversee the situation.
“They notified us that it's 100% up to us if we wanted to hand it over at that time," Cicchelli said.
"Out of respect for our local police officers, as well as the state police, we did give him the opportunity to identify Karen and take her home.”
She says she wanted Applebaum able to identify Karen out of all the alligators they had on property.
“There's two alligators in the pond, and then there's another one in the pond," Applebaum recalled.
"Karen's against the fence, but I'm looking at her feet and she's got two different tags on it.”
Cicchelli says he wasn't able to properly identify Karen, while Applebaum says it wasn't a fair scenario.
“And then they just say 'okay, time's up,' and I was like, 'oh my god, really?',” Applebaum said.
“I have not seen her in about a week, and she's probably devastated as well, just confused at what's going on.”
But Cicchelli says Karen is now in their care, and they are responsible for her safety going forward.
"She's four to five foot now... she's going to end up getting up to nine to ten foot," she explained.
"Releasing it and allowing that risk to happen, our facility wouldn't be doing what we built our facility up to do... So we have to put the animals first, no matter how much controversy we get from it, and how much how much hate mail we get.”
Applebaum says he won't stop his efforts until he gets Karen back in his care.
Both parties tell FOX 17 they are willing to take their case to civil court, if it comes to it.
“If we end up in a civil case over it, at least we know we're doing everything we possibly can to make sure that she's getting what she needs," Cicchelli said.
Josh says he is now focused on finding a living situation that would be ideal and safe for both him and Karen.
"I'm struggling," he said. "It's hard to talk about her without crying. It really is."
