SAGINAW NEWS (Michigan) 19 October 05 Missing tortoise returned (LaNia Coleman)
A runaway tortoise is safe and sound.
Sherry Moon, the woman who owns the 10-year-old 125-pound giant African tortoise, picked up Big Hoss from the Saginaw Police Department on Tuesday afternoon.
"I'm so relieved," said Moon, 40. "Tortoises are known for being eaten. Their meat is supposed to be a delicacy. I was afraid someone would eat him or put him in water, which also would have killed him."
Hoss escaped from the backyard of his foster home on Bay near Cooper, not far from where he was found. The man caring for Hoss, and three of Moon's other tortoises, had responded to an Oct. 2 Saginaw News article in which Moon pleaded for foster families for her exotic menagerie because the bank foreclosed on her Carrollton Township home.
Police said Saturday's nice weather inspired the man to put the tortoises in his backyard while he worked outside. The man apparently left home briefly, but it was long enough for Hoss to escape and start creeping down a nearby driveway.
Eventually, a passer-by plucked Hoss from the driveway as he inched his way closer to the street.
Police weren't sure if the passer-by intended to steal or rescue the tortoise.
A 31-year-old Saginaw man who declined to identify himself said his mother took Hoss to her home for safekeeping.
"We figured it escaped from someone's yard because there was no way a tortoise that size could have been just walking around mid-Michigan," the man said.
He said the Saginaw County Animal Care Center does not pick up exotic pets and the Children's Zoo at Celebration Square was neither missing a tortoise nor able to take one in.
"The woman at the zoo actually suggested that we call (Sherry Moon)," he said. "We decided to run an ad in the newspaper, and we started researching exotic animal rescues as a backup plan if no one claimed it within a month. We knew we couldn't take care of it forever."
Tuesday, the rescuer ran a "found" ad in The Saginaw News. The tortoise's foster parent responded to the ad and, in turn, handed Hoss over to police.
"He's back with his rightful owner and everyone is happy," the man said.
http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-16/1129731680254610.xml&coll=9
SAGINAW NEWS (Michigan) 18 October 05 Theft or rescue? Escaped 125-pound tortoise missing (LaNia Coleman)
Saginaw police are asking for help to find a reptile on the loose.
Big Hoss, a 125-pound giant African tortoise, escaped from the backyard of a home on Bay near Cooper on Saturday.
Hoss, who is about 10 years old, belongs to Sherry Moon, the Carrollton Township woman who once housed an animal rescue facility in her Carrollton Township home.
Moon, 40, was featured in an Oct. 2 Saginaw News article in which she pleaded for foster families to house her exotic animals because she fell behind on her mortgage payments and the bank foreclosed on her home.
Hoss and three other giant African tortoises were bunking with a Saginaw man who responded to that article, Moon said.
Sunday, a mid-Michigan television station picked up on the story of Moon's plight and contacted her about airing a report, she said. The station specifically wanted to film the tortoises.
"I called this man and said I needed the tortoises here, and he said he had some bad news," Moon said. "He said one of them, the big one, was stolen (Saturday)."
Police say they aren't sure if someone stole the animal or simply rescued it.
"It was nice outside Saturday, so the guy who was watching the tortoises put them out in his yard," said Saginaw Police Officer Matthew W. Gerow.
The man apparently left home briefly, but it was long enough for Hoss to escape from the backyard, Gerow said.
"Someone actually called 911 on Saturday and said this tortoise was in her driveway," Gerow said. "Central Dispatch called out Animal Control, but before they got there a passer-by stopped and picked up the tortoise. They said they wanted to put it in their pond."
Moon is concerned because Hoss is a land animal. He will die in a pond, she said.
"The people who took it didn't leave their name or number, but I talked to the woman who runs the (Children's) Zoo (at Celebration Square) and she said they called her Saturday to see if the zoo was missing a tortoise," Gerow said. "They told her they were interested in getting it back to its rightful owner, and they even called her back Monday."
Police are hopeful the people will contact them at 759-1288 or Moon at 992-7249. Meanwhile, Moon remains anguished and worried about the health of Hoss.
"This is just such a nightmare," she said. "I just want my animals back. Hoss is not a water animal. He's a giant land tortoise, and if he's not properly cared for, he'll die."v
http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-2/112964526194190.xml&coll=9
