Pet tortoise's break for freedom foiled when he is
discovered 2 miles from his owner's home after 8 months on the
run
A pet tortoise has been picked up wandering along a country lane
nearly two miles from his home after being missing for eight
months.
Horace had covered a distance of about 1.8 miles (2.9km) in eight
months - which averages around 39ft (12m) a day.
Horace was seen in the middle of the road near St Fagans on the
outskirts of Cardiff by an RSPCA inspector.
He was scanned for a microchip and was found to belong to a woman
from the St Brides-super-Ely area.
He had somehow avoided all perils - included the possibility of
being eaten by wild animals or crushed by cars - until he was
discovered.
The RSPCA's Judith Haw said: "The owner said he went missing in
about August or September last year.
"She had put him out into the garden, which is quite a big garden,
and five minutes later he was gone.
"She spent a long time looking for him and thought that she was
never going to see him again because she didn't think he would
survive the winter.
"Tortoises need to hibernate and she was convinced she wouldn't see
him again but when she heard we had found him she was
thrilled."
Horace's owner had had him as a Christmas present about seven years
ago when he was very young.
"She had him microchipped straight away and she is so glad she did
now.
"She is really happy he's been found," she added.
Horace, who is of a variety known as a Herman's tortoise, was found
by RSPCA inspector Nic de Calis, who contacted the owner.
"They were so surprised to receive my call and are delighted that
they will be reunited with their long-lost pet," he said.
"This is such a wonderful story and highlights the clear benefit of
having your pet microchipped.
"If Horace had not been microchipped it would have been extremely
unlikely that owner and pet would ever have met again," he
added.
In September 2004, another tortoise was found after a three-mile
journey across the Northumberland countryside - a trip which lasted
three months.
(source: BBC News)
