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WTVJ (Miramar, Florida) 02 December 05 Tortoise Climbs Wall, Runs Away From Home - Tortoise Missing From Parkland Home
Parkland, Fla: In the fable, the tortoise claims "slow and steady wins the race." For one South Florida man, the race is now on to find his pet tortoise, which moves slowly but is still nowhere to be found.
Alfredo Ramos said his pet tortoise, Brownie, has been missing since last weekend.
"Saturday or Sunday morning. And, I knew she was here Thanksgiving. All of our relatives came over, so the kids came back and fed the tortoises," Ramos said.
Brownie is a 9-year-old African spur tortoise. Ramos said she escaped her pen, climbed over rocks and out of sight.
Brownie moves about 1 mph and has been gone for about five days now, so she could be anywhere.
Ramos said Brownie has escaped before
"These things knock everything over. That's why I built this (wall). They're rocks, coral rocks, and I cemented them together," Ramos said.
Brownie's playmates, Brownie, Jr., and Benny, continue to eat their lettuce all alone.
"It's like something you've had for a long time. You can always replace a lot of things, but we've had it a long time. We always used to joke around that she was going to get the deed to the house, because they live to be about 80," Ramos said.
The tortoises are vegetarians and do not bite, so if you see Brownie, do not be scared to grab her, Sugalski reported.
Ramos put his name, telephone number and contact information on the bottom of his tortoises' shells.
If you spot Brownie, call NBC 6 to get in touch with Ramos.
Tortoise Climbs Wall, Runs Away From Home

apparently someone found him and hung into him until someone came forward. glad this story has a happy ending!
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