1 day Ago By People
After 9 months of searching, a missing pet tortoise has been found a mile from its home. Leonardo vanished last July from his Ulverston home in Cumbria, United Kingdom. Rachel Etches, the reptile's owner of 13 years, "feared the worst" after the pet disappeared from her garden.
Etches found no sign of Leonardo through the rest of the year and into 2025, until she saw a message posted by a local pet shop. "We have had a tortoise handed in this morning..
.Please share!" Little Beasties Ulverston posted on social media on April 22. Etches instantly recognized the tortoise as Leonardo and responded, "This is my tortoise" in the post's comments section.
On Thursday, April 24, Little Beasties updated their followers : "We have some great news! Leonardo is now back with his owners after 9 months of being missing! Thank you to the gentleman who brought him to us." According to the BBC , a dog walker had spotted Leonardo while walking down a street about a mile from Etches' home and brought him to Little Beasties. When found, the tortoise was uninjured except for a sore eye.
Related: Wiener Dog Lost on Rugged Island for 529 Days Is Safe After 1,000 Hours of Searching, Rescue Says "He's led a very comfortable life for 13 years under a heat lamp in my house," Etches told the outlet. "We didn't think he was going to survive the winter being out there for the first time." The pet owner believes Leonardo hibernated during the winter and woke up in the warmer months.
If not, the reptile covered about 20 feet per day. "It was totally my fault," Etches explained. "We were out in the garden, we'd just had our second child, I got a bit distracted and he just wandered off out of our sight.
" Related: Rescue Flight Brings Supplies to Puerto Rico and Returns with 110 Pets Saved from 'Deplorable' Conditions This was not the first time Leonardo had left Etches’ property. He escaped A few years ago but only for several days. "They're very adventurous beings," Etches told the BBC.
"They always test the boundaries of wherever they're put." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The day the reunion was announced, Etches wrote on Facebook: "Proud owner of the [world's] best escape artist 😤 welcome home you little bugger.
" Read the original article on People.
