Posted on 08/18/2007 10:21:21 AM PDT by Dysart
VENTURA, Calif. - A 42-pound pet tortoise that was slashed and mutilated after being stolen from a family's yard is home following more than a month in a rehabilitation center.
The tortoise, Bob, heartily ate a meal of hibiscus flowers and roses — its first since having a feeding tube pulled from its neck, owner Dorothy Sullivan said Friday.
"He's eating like a pig," she said. "He's doing great and we're pretty excited."
The 25-year-old African spurred tortoise was snatched from Sullivan's yard on July 7. Police, following an anonymous tip, found the injured animal behind an apartment complex several days later.
The tortoise's hind legs were badly cut, a toe was cut off, its neck was slashed and its shell was punctured with a sharp object. The attacker tried to cut the animal out of its shell and threw it against a wall, police said.
Jose "Tony" Mosqueda, 18, of Ventura, was arrested and charged with animal cruelty. He pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison, prosecutors said.
Sullivan said Bob is a friend to her 6-year-old autistic son William, who rarely spoke to people but chattered to the animal. She said the boy was withdrawn during the tortoise's stay at Turtle Dreams, a Montecito rehab center, but has started talking again since Bob's return.
"It's made a good impact on our son. He's sleeping through the night and he's opening up," Sullivan said.
A benefit concert was planned for Sunday at a Ventura night club to raise money to help pay the animal's veterinary bills.
Uhh...I would say something about Rats, but that would get me in trouble.
Oh, I see.
Yeah, welding them doesn’t work to well.
Dunno, but I repaired a tank, with bondo, once.
Anybody know where Mike Vick was on July 7?
It's the Michael Vick syndrome, you understand. Born without a soul or simply discarded it somewhere along the way.
Sorry. Redemption is impossible in these cases. God doesn't want them and perhaps even Satan will reject them.
Wow! Sounds like the real parties are happening at your house!
Ouch!
one of the paramedics, a young girl, refused to help my brother because she was mad about the turtle being killed. The other paramedic gave him a shot and loaded him onto a gurney and took him to the hospital.
That sounds like grounds for a lawsuit
Hot damn! It's open season on Helen Thomas, boys!
I would willingly pay the fine. However, I've gotten a nasty comment about poisoning buzzards. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
I used to have a desert tortoise when I was a kid. I named it Herman. One of my relatives, who lived out in the desert, found it and gave it to me. It lived out in our back yard. On Saturdays when it was time to mow the lawn, I had to go out there and find it, and bring it to safety so it wouldn’t get mowed over.
No, not me. The guy who tortured the turtle! He should get three years with a snapper.
An 18 year old in prison will learn a new definition of the word ‘punk’.
Cooter pie:
First you take a live cooter and wait for him to stick his head out from under his shell. When he does this, you grab it and whack it off. Take a hatchet to the underside so you can get to the meat and remove it along with the liver, tripe, and eggs (if any). Set aside.
1/2 cup of chopped bacon 1 stewed tomato, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped 1 teaspoon of thyme
2 toes of garlic, crushed 1/4 cup of flour
Fry all the above down until it’s brown, then add the cooter and continue to cook. It’s best in a black iron dutch oven. Don’t forget to salt and pepper it to your taste.
Brown the flour in an iron frying pan. Stir it constantly to avoid burning. Make sure you brown it good. Then add it to the cooter with enough water to make it soupy. Stew down til meat is falling off the bone and the liquid is thick.
Now make biscuit dough and drop small-sized biscuits over the top of the stew. Stick it in a preheated oven at 400 degrees and bake until golden.
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