POST AND COURIER (Charleston, S Carolina) 27 July 06 With only the house on his back, big Willy goes wandering (Nan Futrell)
It could happen to the best of us: While building a cage for your 50-pound pet tortoise, the critter slips your mind for a mere 15 minutes. But that's all it takes, and the big guy is on the lam. The plastic wading pool that until recently had been its temporary home is empty.
That scenario - call it the Tortoise and the Scare - is just what Kelly Copeland- Burnut confronted two weeks ago in her Ridgeville backyard. Willy, 24 inches in diameter, vanished from his wading pool confines as the construction of his new digs was under way nearby.
Copeland-Burnut says her stepson got Willy from an Aiken woman who'd been looking to place the 'great big guy' in a good home. 'That's why I'm a little nervous to have this in the newspaper - I kind of hope she doesn't read about this.' She's half-joking. Copeland-Burnut says she can't believe Willy, who she described as prehistoric-looking and having a distinct golden color, disappeared so stealthily. His previous owner advised her to keep Willy in the wading pool, assuring her a tortoise his size wouldn't be able to climb out and over the sides. Apparently, free Willy would have none of that.
Copeland-Burnut says she waited about two weeks before placing a classified ad in the newspaper seeking information on Willy's whereabouts. And she took some grief from friends and family members, who were skeptical about the likelihood of apprehending the cold- blooded escapee.
Shortly after placing the ad, Copeland-Burnut got a call from some folks on James Island who thought they had Willy in the bag. They e-mailed photos of the tortoise they'd found, and a hopeful Copeland-Burnut figured the resemblance was close enough.
But, alas, when her 25-year- old stepson went to get the tortoise, he found it wasn't Willy - it was an even bigger reptilian runaway. He brought home the 65-pounder anyway. That tortoise's stay proved even shorter than his predecessor's, curtailed when a local biologist called Copeland-Burnut the same evening and said the animal had been in her care during a respite from his home at Cypress Gardens in Moncks Corner.
Copeland-Burnut says she's gotten several other calls of tortoise sightings, but her pet remains at large.
Willy come home? Copeland Burnut is keeping the faith: 'People tell me I'm crazy, but I really do still believe he'll come back. You can't mistake him, you'll know it's Willy.'
Seen Willy?
Kelly Copeland- Burnut is offering a reward for Willy's return. The Willy Watch hot line is 514-7553.
Big Willy goes wandering