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VENTURA COUNTY STAR (Ventura, California) 10 July 07 Police investigating case of mutilated tortoise
Bob, a friendly, 42-pound African tortoise, remains in intensive care in a Santa Barbara animal hospital after the pet was snatched from the back yard of a Ventura home over the weekend, mutilated and left to die behind an apartment complex.
Authorities are asking for the public's help in solving the case, believed to be one of the worst incidents of animal abuse in Ventura in years and one that could bring felony charges.
Bob's arms, neck and leathery hind legs were slashed and his dark green shell was stabbed repeatedly — in a possible effort by his taker or takers to recreate an episode of the Discovery Channel's Man vs. Wild cable television show, where the military trained host kills and eats a tortoise to survive, an anonymous caller told the family.
"What they did to Bob was heinous and despicable, and we are hopeful that someone will come forward to police," Dorothy Sullivan, Bob's owner, said.
Bob was more than a household pet to the Sullivans, whose 6-year-old son William is autistic and until a couple years ago didn't speak to humans, communicating instead through sign language.
But with Bob, the little blond boy, who also suffers from the rare neuron-genetic disorder Angelman syndrome, was a regular chatterbox. The approachable reptile opened an inexplicable window into William's inner world, and the boy would bare details of his days at school and private life, his mother said.
"William was devastated and physically sick when he saw what happened to Bob," his mother said.
Bob, believed to be about 25 years old, was snatched from the Sullivan's home in the 100 block of East Center Street sometime between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday, when Sullivan went to check on him and discovered he was gone. She believes someone scaled a back fence.
The family called the Ventura Police Department to report the missing tortoise, and within an hour had posted dozens of fliers in their west Ventura neighborhood.
Sunday morning Sullivan received a call from a man who wanted money for information of Bob's whereabouts. She refused to give him any money until he delivered her to Bob.
She finally followed the man, who never identified himself, to thick brush beyond a retaining wall behind the nearby Ventura Valley View apartments on Cedar Street. When she first saw Bob, she was relieved. But then she got closer, she saw his shell had been stabbed and splintered. Now emotional and yelling, she peppered the man with questions about what happened. He quickly sped off on a bicycle and never returned.
It wasn't until she transported Bob home in a small wagon that she realized he was bleeding badly from his underbelly.
"This is one of the worst attacks I've ever seen," said Jeanie Vaughan, owner and founder of Turtle Dreams, an animal rescue and rehabilitation center in Santa Barbara where Bob was initially taken for treatment. "I don't know how someone could be so cold and thoughtless to take a knife or other sharp object and slash a defenseless animal."
Bob's extensive injuries required him to be taken to a Santa Barbara animal hospital, where he was sedated and fitted with a feeding tube to provide food and medication to stave off infection, Vaughan said.
"We don't know if he is going to make it," Vaughan said. "His kidneys are working, for now, but it's going to be touch and go for a few days."
Bob had lacerations on his head and legs, as though someone had tried to remove him from his shell, police said.
"We are taking this very serious," Ventura Police Sgt. Jack Richards said, adding that the level of brutality likely would lead to felony charges if they make an arrest.
A conviction of felony animal abuse can bring up to three years in state prison, while a misdemeanor conviction could result in a year in jail, said Nancy Ayers, a senior prosecutor in the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
"Our office takes a tough stance on people who are abusive to animals," said Ayers, who handles animal abuse cases. "Fortunately, they remain uncommon."
Anyone with information can contact detectives at 339-4394 or make an anonymous call to Crime Stoppers at 385-TALK. Information that leads to an arrest could result in a reward of up to $1,000, police said.
Bob is a sulcata tortoise or African spurred tortoise, a hearty but endangered species that lives roughly 50 years in captivity and can grow to as much as 200 pounds, experts say. The land-dwelling animals are prolific breeders and have been increasingly found in the pet trade, Vaughan said.
"They are adorable when they are very small," Vaughan said. "And some pet sellers don't tell the buyer that they can grow so big, so they often end up being dumped when they become too much to handle."
Bill and Dorothy Sullivan found Bob a decade ago wondering in the alley behind their house. They took him in and tried to locate his owners, but couldn't. The state Department of Fish and Game told the couple the tortoise could not be returned to the wild, so they established a home for him in their back yard. They consider him family now, hand feeding him strawberries and fondly referring to him as the "poop machine." They are thankful for his connection to their son.
"We call him a therapy turtle because he miraculously brings William out of his shell," Dorothy Sullivan said.
The couple is facing hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in veterinarian bills. They have received a couple anonymous calls from area residents and are convinced someone saw who brutalized their pet.
"The scary thing is, if whoever did this gets away with it, it's likely they will do it again," Bill Sullivan said. "We just hope someone will speak up."
Police investigating case of mutilated tortoise

KCBS (Studio City, California) 01 August 07 Update On Bob The Turtle: He's Healing Nicely
Ventura, Calif (AP): Officials say a tortoise who was stolen, slashed and mutilated is still being fed through a tube in his neck but is healing nicely.
The 42-pound pet tortoise, named Bob, is being treated at Turtle Dreams, a Montecito rehabilitation center.
Police following an anonymous tip found Bob in brush behind an apartment complex days after the animal was stolen on July seventh.
Officials say the animal's hind legs were badly cut, a toe was cut off, his neck was slashed and his shell was punctured with a sharp object.
A prosecutor says Jose "Tony" Mosqueda, of Ventura pleaded not guilty July 23rd to one felony count of animal cruelty in the case.
He remains in custody on $100,000 bail.
Update On Bob The Turtle: He's Healing Nicely