A lost animal in Austin is one thing that just can’t stand. We have a strong history of banding together to make sure that companions and family members make it back home safe, like that time that Hammy the pig was reunited with her human after social media lent a hand. There’s even a great Lost & Found Animals group for people who need help from the community, along with the Austin Animal Center’s informative page.
Thankfully, we’ve got another happy ending to report after Gullett Elementary’s pet turtle, Tina, went missing from the backyard of her summer caretaker on August 20th. Tina the tortoise is Gullett’s unofficial 60-pound mascot, and apparently has a bit of a penchant for being an escape artist. However, her caretaker was worried that after not finding any droppings in the area that she may have been taken.
The school PTA offered a reward of $500, and neighbors got in on the search after seeing flyers in the neighborhood. YouTube user Pretty Ph3nom posted this video hoping someone had seen her.
CBS Austin reports that a day after originally running their story about Tina, Christian Kurtz, the PTA member whose home Tina went missing from, said that a viewer from Leander sent him a picture of Tina. The viewer had found her near Kurtz’s neighborhood approximately two weeks ago and had taken her to Leander.
Since then, Tina has been returned to a very grateful group of elementary schoolers at Gullett.
Featured photo from YouTube user Pretty Ph3nom.
