EVENING GAZETTE (Middlesborough, UK) 09 September 04 Bring back my rare tortoise, pleads Dave (Audrey Forbes)
A Middlesbrough pet shop owner is appealing for the safe return of his rare tortoise.
The two-year-old tortoise was stolen from his tank in Parliament Pets, on Parliament Road in the town centre, on Saturday afternoon.
The tank had only been unlocked for a short time as owner Dave Bunney fed the tortoise. But in the seconds his back was turned, the tortoise was gone.
The 37-year-old runs the pet shop with his partner Jill Reed, and the pair had raised the Horsefield tortoise for the past five months.
"Obviously I'm angry and distraught. I'm more upset as we've had this one for the last few months," said Mr Bunney.
"We've done everything right and then someone just picks him up and takes him away."
The pair are appealing for the return of the tortoise which needs round the clock care and attention.
"They are not as easy to look after as you might think," said Mr Bunney.
The pet is also popular with the customers.
Mr Bunney believes the tortoise was taken by two or three men, thought to be aged in their twenties, who were in the shop moments before the disappearance.
The tortoise needs to be fed on a vitamin rich vegetarian diet of cabbage, cauliflower and dandelion.
His tank, complete with UV tube supplying the rays needed to help him grow, is sitting empty as he was the last of the tortoises the pair bought.
Tortoises are now extremely rare. They can live for 100 years and are worth between £175 and £200.
A Cleveland Police spokesman said: "The incident has been reported to us and we are investigating."
Bring back my rare tortoise, pleads Dave