AN adventurous tortoise who spent three weeks on the run has been found safe and sound after eluding search efforts that included sniffer dogs.
Kathy and Dave Palmer, of Startforth, had given up hope of finding three-year-old tortoise Horatio after he went missing in May. They had been so desperate they even enlisted the help of a friend with a thermal imaging camera in the forlorn hope of tracking him down.
But by chance, the lucky little reptile was discovered last week, sunbathing on the roadside just inches away from oncoming traffic.
Horatio is now back at home, where the Palmers are keeping a close eye on him in case he makes another dash for freedom.
Mrs Palmer said: “We're over the moon to have him back. He's a bit cocky and full of himself after his adventure.”
The drama began when Horatio, who was bought to replace the couple's previous tortoise who was aged over 100, was exercising in the front garden.
Mrs Palmer said: “It was a beautiful evening. He doesn’t like to be in a cage and we keep an eye on him. He was basking in the sun and I nipped inside to put the pasta on. When I went back out, he was gone.”
The couple didn’t think he could have got far, but to their surprise Horatio was nowhere to be seen.
Mrs Palmer said: “We searched inside and out. We got in a guy with a heat-seeking camera, a springer spaniel and a terrier to look for him. But nothing.”
A poster was pinned to the front gate but Horatio had vanished.
“I had given up hope. I thought he must have been stolen. As sad as that was, I hoped whoever did it would give him a good home. I gave away his food and cleaned out his bed,” said Mrs Palmer.
But that day, the couple spotted him at the top of the drive at The Lendings, about 500m from home.
Mr Palmer said: “It was fate because we don’t normally walk up the drive – if we go out, it’s always by the gate at the front.
“We were meeting someone about putting up some speed signs and there he was, sunbathing at the side of the road, six inches from being run over by the next car. We were so pleased to find him.
“It’s caused so much interest – everyone has been asking if we've found him. It's heartwarming.”
The couple think he slipped out the front gate, walked along the path before entering their paddock via the end gate, then climbing the hill and traversing a patch of nettles.
Horatio, a Hermann’s tortoise, is a third of his adult size and can expect to live up to 100 years. The Palmers plan to pass him to their grandchildren when they aren’t around any longer.
Mrs Palmer joked: “He’s a wanderer so we’re going to put GPS on him.”
