A 75-pound pet tortoise named Tank was reunited was his family recently after he wandered off from their Santa Clarita, Calif., home as a wildfire raged nearby.
Aaron Reyes, deputy director of the County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC), told ABC News that Tank was found “walking as quickly as he could away from the fires.”
From ABC News:
Wendy Collins, the tortoise’s self-proclaimed “mommy,” told ABC News today her beloved “Tank,” whom she also calls “Pebbles,” was left behind early Saturday afternoon by her husband after the family was ordered by sheriff’s deputies to evacuate their home.
“Because of the tight time frame he was given, my husband was only able to take our two dogs, his bearded dragon and the essentials,” Collins said. “I had been trying to come home from work at the time but got stuck in traffic.”
After a friend reached out to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, county animal care and control officers found the big-ass turtle on a street near the Collins’s home and took him to a local animal shelter, where he was a big hit.
“He was such a sweetheart and had a big personality,” Reyes told ABC. “He minded his manners, and though he was a very alert fella, he was not snappy at all. He was obviously a well-raised, perfect lil’ gentleman.”
All that walking and meeting new people apparently wore Tank out. “When he got home, the first thing he did was go straight to bed,” Collins said.
