After almost two months, Sheldon the turtle found his way home.
Rick Bulechowsky posted on social media on July 3 that his turtle Sheldon had gone missing.
“I take him out on nice days and let him swim about in my pond. A buddy came over to go golfing, and I took off,” he said. “Around 11 o’clock at night, I was going to bed and I thought, I forgot my turtle out there. I went out and he had slid out of the pond.”
Sheldon is a Reeve’s turtle and about four inches long. Bulechowsky bought him at the local pet store about a year ago.
“I bought him for when the grandchildren come over, so they have something to play with,” he said.
The next day Sheldon was nowhere to be found.
“I looked for him for about a week and put out on Facebook to see if someone in the neighborhood had found him,” said Bulechowsky.
With no luck, days turned to weeks and after 50 days, he saw another post on Facebook looking for someone who had lost a turtle.
“50 days later he was seen crossing the street,” said Bulechowsky.
He explains that his turtle was spotted on 2nd Street in the Bankview area. He said Mark Olbrich had found the turtle. A friend of Olbrich knew of Bulechowsky’s post and eventually, he was reunited with his pet.
“He never made it more than a block away,” said Bulechowsky. “He was pretty dusty and dirty. I had to scrub him to get him clean.”
He adds the turtle was in good shape and must have been able to find food to survive for so long.
The story of Sheldon spread on Facebook and he says even a visit to the local dealership had people identifying him.
“'Hey, you’re the guy that lost his turtle,'” he laughs.
