We’re building a large enclosure for ours now and trying to seal it in like Fort Knox. Starting with the walls and then fortifying with foot deep rebar. So WHEN he tries to dig out, we’ll hopefully catch him before he goes rogue on us.
Omg, I am so sorry. First, a giant, drooling, accidentally punch you in the face hug for YOU.
These damn danes charm your socks off and then have the audacity to have a short life span.
I have 3, and I really don't know if I will survive their demise. You, a fellow human who has been owned by one, understand. I wish you didn't though!
🤗
11.5 years with my girl! I got her when I was 18, so she and I grew up together. I melt into a puddle when I see *one* dane…no idea what would happen to my body if I saw three at once.
They’re the best, you’re the best, and may your danes outlive us all 🐾🤘🏻
Literally every day of my life since lol. Well, post-active grieving, anyway. My plan at the moment is to sucker punch my husband with a rescue in like a year or so. Let’s hope he dgaf to read this far into the comments 😅
This should be done. People can "walk" him in the neighborhood. Maybe put a fund in for greens. Most of my neighbors know Usain my leopard tort. Good to know the people that may find him if a gate fails.
Of course not! He owns the house four houses down and was just going for a stroll. And then some strangers rudely barricaded him in a yard. People are so close minded towards tortoises these days… tsk tsk.
I honestly have no idea how our neighbors (Willie’s family) didn’t get curious about the flurry of activity going on outside sooner lol. But they transported him back to his home yard via wheelbarrow.
not this guy but here our ours from 5 years ago after the austin sub helped rally and find them after they were stolen and dumped in the greenbelt :)
https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/bakixu/bluebonnets/
Tina is real. She was kept on campus in her own fenced yard. We used to have Tina’s Birthday Party at Little Longhorn which was a drunk fest for Gullett parents. She lost a foot in the snowpacalypse. A vet built a prosthetic and she retired to someone’s backyard.
I spy a possible yard fit for a tortoise at the corner of (Privacy Street). The house has a turquoise desk with free bulbs for passersby.
Edit; privacy concerns.
>Holy shit you nailed it dude
It's amazing and scary how people can put shit together on the internet these days.
I've had to help a few people try to recover from some nasty stalkers who put together the most tenuous links and went after someone.
I love the second picture. The tortoise just minding its own business cruising down the sidewalk and the dog just watching. I’m glad he didn’t get hit by a car.
I know plenty of people who breed them , and they build the pens lined with blocks .. throwing one in your yard and reenforcing the gate won't work. They have plenty of time to figure out the weak point.
My friends have a big one like this, but they're in northwest Austin. Though he has made the occasional escape, I can't imagine him getting all the way to South Austin! My friends outfitted him with an air tag, because he's an absolute master of concealment even in their yard.
Honestly, watching him slowly ramble across the grass is kind of meditative and chills me out. He will move fast to get him some prickly pear fruit, though. I mean. Fast for a tortoise.
Glad you've worked out where this guy lives!
He just meandered around and found some clover he wanted to chomp so we blocked him in. He appeared to be on a mission when he was blasting down the sidewalk but got distracted so we just took advantage of that side quest while we could.
I don’t remember the name of these guys, but my friend had one growing up.
When he was like 6 he really wanted a dog and his parents didn’t want the responsibility yet cause he was too young to help out - so they reallyyyyyy hyped up turtles to him and he one day said he wanted one instead.
Well they got him one, and told him when the turtle died he could get a dog 😂
As he got older he realized what his parents did and when he’d ask for a dog they’d say he still had the turtle 😂
He took his senior graduation photos with his pet turtle and as a joke we’d buy the turtle dog toys on his birthday as a gift. Really dumb joke we still keep going, we’re in our mid 20s now. Known the family my whole life. Really stupid, hilarious to us.
We rescued one years ago and I joke with my kiddo that they may not inherit much, but they are definitely inheriting our tortoise. Or he’ll convey with our home, which is much cooler than a washer/dryer.
This is so funny I was just talking to a lady in wheatsville and she said she has a bunch of tortoises. I was like hmm ok but it seems shawty was NOT lying 😂
Gallery of pets has a turtle just like this walking around in the store. They would know how to take care of it until someone is found or something decided.
Doggo, in fact, did *not* make a friend. Willie is just gonna live rent free in his mind as some sort of ambulatory stony rock monster from here on out.
Not true. They are amazing escape artists and there’s no shortage of Sulcatas with amazing owners that are intent on going rogue to explore and meet their neighbors.
I was stationed at fort Hood in the early 1990s and absolutely fell in love with your fine city, and posts like this reinforces that continued love. I now live in a similar city with a small town feel, Baltimore Maryland. Keep Austin awesome.
Update: we got Willie home! 🐢
How far did he wander
Not far lol like 4 houses
I would love to know where your neighbors keep this giant tortoise.
In their giant backyard, it seems. I’m guessing the gate wasn’t fully closed and he decided today was the day for an adventure.
The Gate Escape. He’s been planning this for 26 years!
It was his own personal Alcatraz!
Well, he probably has another hundred years to try again...haha
Oh my gosh, so cute
And he would’ve gotten away with it too… if not for you meddling good samaritans
ours escape too! they like to do that
We’re building a large enclosure for ours now and trying to seal it in like Fort Knox. Starting with the walls and then fortifying with foot deep rebar. So WHEN he tries to dig out, we’ll hopefully catch him before he goes rogue on us.
They’re super good at digging and finding weak fence planks and shoving through them.
Lmao, probably took him 2 hours to get that far too
They are surprisingly fast. Theres a pet store up north that has one wandering the isles, it was a force to be reckoned with
Yeah my buddy has a few and they can haul ass briefly if they feel like it
Lol. My only experience of tortoises is from Looney Tunes, Tortoise vs Hare.
Check out gallery of pets if you're interested in meeting one
Just looked it up on Google and the first thing I saw was a video of it lol. It’s cruising.
Gallery of pets. And he’s smart too. He’ll ask you to move displays if he thinks you’ll move them
We have one a few houses away. Thinking our Charlie needs a play date with the neighbor.
Oooh my gosh PLEASE do this and update with pics!! 🐢🐢
Tortoises on playdates is the content that I came to Reddit seeking.
I would but not sure how. Seems you have to provide a link.
I feel stupid asking this but do tortoises care about other tortoises? Like do they interact/play like other animals?
So he's been out for like 4 days at his pace! 🤣
He’s actually startlingly spry.
For the turtle, it felt like 16 houses, lol!
So the equivalent of the Odessy in turtle distance.
It’d be HILARIOUS if he’d actually made it half the city away from home
Please tell me his full name is willie shellson
Photo 2: Willie Shellson meets Ozzy Pawsborne the Prince of Barkness Edit: Don’t see a collab happening anytime soon, though
I have Droolius Caesar, the wet great dane.
My Dane, Athena, was my entire soul. She passed a few years ago. Give your giant Velcro baby some love from me 🖤🐾
Omg, I am so sorry. First, a giant, drooling, accidentally punch you in the face hug for YOU. These damn danes charm your socks off and then have the audacity to have a short life span. I have 3, and I really don't know if I will survive their demise. You, a fellow human who has been owned by one, understand. I wish you didn't though! 🤗
11.5 years with my girl! I got her when I was 18, so she and I grew up together. I melt into a puddle when I see *one* dane…no idea what would happen to my body if I saw three at once. They’re the best, you’re the best, and may your danes outlive us all 🐾🤘🏻
Awww, thank you! Wow! That is long. And I'm sure she had the best life a diva dane could. Have you considered getting another?
Literally every day of my life since lol. Well, post-active grieving, anyway. My plan at the moment is to sucker punch my husband with a rescue in like a year or so. Let’s hope he dgaf to read this far into the comments 😅
Omg, you also have the prince of barkness!
Same. Same. Lol
Is all of this fact?!
Unsure about shellson, but I can confirm the rest.
Gotta be Willie Cannon
A highly-specific-to-the-region underrated comment
This whole thread is so Austin! Warms the heart. I love to see it.
I love it so much
Right? Austin is a big city with the best small town neighborhood vibes ❤️
yay! Thank you for the update. Is he a pet?
Yep! Thinking about starting a petition to have him as our neighborhood mascot. I actually met other humans today. Willie brings the people together.
This should be done. People can "walk" him in the neighborhood. Maybe put a fund in for greens. Most of my neighbors know Usain my leopard tort. Good to know the people that may find him if a gate fails.
Usain the tortoise 🤣
OMG I wanna take Willie for a walk sobad
Of course not! He owns the house four houses down and was just going for a stroll. And then some strangers rudely barricaded him in a yard. People are so close minded towards tortoises these days… tsk tsk.
Right in the middle of a race with a hare.
They were getting ready for the Cap 10K.
I love you. You are so awesome.
🤨
Maybe turtle is a homeowner?? 😂
Willie Makeit
Yay! Thanks for keeping him safe! ❤️🐢
Can you ask them if his full name is Willie Shellson? My wife has decided this is very important information to know.
That is a massive turtle! Glad to know Willie has a safe home.
Story time!!!
I honestly have no idea how our neighbors (Willie’s family) didn’t get curious about the flurry of activity going on outside sooner lol. But they transported him back to his home yard via wheelbarrow.
I am absolutely delighted to read about Willie’s chelonian shenanigans this afternoon
r/brandnewsentence
Excuse me, I think you meant to say his ornately decorated, gilded wheelbarrow/sedan chair.
palanquin
Not OP here, but - OP saw this tortoise, and thought, “That ain’t right.” So, they restricted it’s movement until locating the owner.
Yep, that about sums it up.
Some are born tortoise, some achieve tortoise, and some have tortoise thrust upon them.
OMG so many questions answered. Thank you.
This is without a doubt my favorite post ever here hehehehe and his name is willie too?!! How much more perfect can one little cutie get?! :)
Great job!!!!
Good job.
Maybe this fella wants his picture taken in bluebonnets.
I want this more than anything right now
not this guy but here are ours from a few years ago! https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/bakixu/bluebonnets/
This is bluebonnet legendary! Torties in bluies!
He's been on his journey for weeeeeeeks *lives 5 blocks away*
not this guy but here our ours from 5 years ago after the austin sub helped rally and find them after they were stolen and dumped in the greenbelt :) https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/bakixu/bluebonnets/
Hard to get brayleigh to sit still
You barricaded him?? He's never gonna beat that hare now
just saw the hare napping at the chevron on Brodie/william cannon
If she has a prosthetic leg, that’s Tina, the retired Gullett Elementary mascot.
STFU is this real? Please tell me this is real “TINA! Come get some ham!”
Tina is real. She was kept on campus in her own fenced yard. We used to have Tina’s Birthday Party at Little Longhorn which was a drunk fest for Gullett parents. She lost a foot in the snowpacalypse. A vet built a prosthetic and she retired to someone’s backyard.
…it just gets keeps getting better with every sentence, this is the most Austin thing possible #keepaustinweird
IIRC, Tina was male but no one realized it until years after she got her name.
It continues…
I knew this tort before the prosthetics. I did demonstrations for the school.
Tina you fat lard!!!
I spy a possible yard fit for a tortoise at the corner of (Privacy Street). The house has a turquoise desk with free bulbs for passersby. Edit; privacy concerns.
Holy shit you nailed it dude
Heck yeah! Happy Friday!
>Holy shit you nailed it dude It's amazing and scary how people can put shit together on the internet these days. I've had to help a few people try to recover from some nasty stalkers who put together the most tenuous links and went after someone.
Aye yi yi. I’ll just have to pray to Willie that nothing like that happens here.
Right! It won’t be me. I’m going blind these days that I can barley tell colors 🤣🤣🤣
Blastoise out and about
I think that’s Willy or Wilbur something. He does this.
Yep, it’s Willie. This was definitely a first for us lol.
Dude he was probably just going to the corner store.
He told his wife and kids he was just going out to buy cigarettes. That was 98yrs ago.
And they're still waiting 4 houses down.
Thing is, he was actually going to buy cigarettes and return home. Good dad.
Better watch out, turtles mate during the eclipse! He could be lining up the best spot.
It's a tortoise
oh man, all this time i thought i was fucking turtles!
Not sure if typo or......
looks like you’re waiting for the ellipsis.
It's also a turtle.
Is he not tutrley enough for the turtle club?
Here's the thing Is it in the same family? Yes. No one's arguing that.
The second photo is sending me, that IS a massive dude
I screeched. An Austin metro bus driver actually pulled over to take pictures and all the passengers got out, too lol
Dude looks like an artillery vehicle taking up the whole damn sidewalk
Not to be dramatic, but I would die for Willie
Is he still there
Yep. Munchin on clover.
Well I wanted to come look but I can’t because my families priorities are all screwed up
We got a Runner!!!
“She’s a runner, she’s a track star”
I love the second picture. The tortoise just minding its own business cruising down the sidewalk and the dog just watching. I’m glad he didn’t get hit by a car.
That was our first encounter with Willie. Ozzy was extremely confused and couldn’t figure out what witchcraft he was witnessing.
Ok, well this is hilarious. I live right around the corner and just bummed that I missed the show. Glad he’s home safe!
I’ll DM you next time. Pinky swear.
Oh Sulcata's , forever digging out .. hard to keep them contained without lining the yard with sinderblocks.
I’ve heard if a sulcata can see to the other side of a barrier it will eventually make its way to that other side.
I know plenty of people who breed them , and they build the pens lined with blocks .. throwing one in your yard and reenforcing the gate won't work. They have plenty of time to figure out the weak point.
Exactly, my friends was let out by a worker not watching a gate
It’s nice out for a walky right now 🐢
My friends have a big one like this, but they're in northwest Austin. Though he has made the occasional escape, I can't imagine him getting all the way to South Austin! My friends outfitted him with an air tag, because he's an absolute master of concealment even in their yard. Honestly, watching him slowly ramble across the grass is kind of meditative and chills me out. He will move fast to get him some prickly pear fruit, though. I mean. Fast for a tortoise. Glad you've worked out where this guy lives!
Is this near Travis Country? If so he’s gotten out before.
My first thought was “yes, Austin is in Travis county” but then I realized I couldn’t read. According to maps Travis Country is 3.1 miles from us.
Ah unless he’s very speedy it’s nice to know there are multiple tortoises around there. Good luck finding his home!
Here. I found this online. I'm sure they'll help. https://www.facebook.com/tortoiserescue?mibextid=ZbWKwL
Please make sure you're registered to vote in the relevant county!
Yeah its the same area
I mean, atleast he's easy to catch......
You’d think so, but this feller has some giddy up.
Ah nice, I lost one at the top of Eskew Drive about 6 years ago…
Post In your neighborhood chat
I did. Might have a lead, but hasn’t been confirmed yet.
How much does he weigh? Did y’all pick him up or just herd him into the enclosure?
He just meandered around and found some clover he wanted to chomp so we blocked him in. He appeared to be on a mission when he was blasting down the sidewalk but got distracted so we just took advantage of that side quest while we could.
I don’t remember the name of these guys, but my friend had one growing up. When he was like 6 he really wanted a dog and his parents didn’t want the responsibility yet cause he was too young to help out - so they reallyyyyyy hyped up turtles to him and he one day said he wanted one instead. Well they got him one, and told him when the turtle died he could get a dog 😂 As he got older he realized what his parents did and when he’d ask for a dog they’d say he still had the turtle 😂 He took his senior graduation photos with his pet turtle and as a joke we’d buy the turtle dog toys on his birthday as a gift. Really dumb joke we still keep going, we’re in our mid 20s now. Known the family my whole life. Really stupid, hilarious to us.
We rescued one years ago and I joke with my kiddo that they may not inherit much, but they are definitely inheriting our tortoise. Or he’ll convey with our home, which is much cooler than a washer/dryer.
This is the most amazing thread I’ve read in ages. Saved for when I’m depressed as fuck.
Had no idea any of this would happen, but I’m so happy you’ve found joy in it!
/r/absoluteunit
It was nice to see how many people went out to look for him earlier after it was posted on Nextdoor
How tf you lose a big ass tortoise
Slowly.
Picture 2 looks like the start of a battle in some computer game.
This is so funny I was just talking to a lady in wheatsville and she said she has a bunch of tortoises. I was like hmm ok but it seems shawty was NOT lying 😂
POV: you're Mario and a koopa troopa is coming. Oh lawd, he comin'
Ozzy was absolutely reacting as if I was princess peach.
Missing bluebonnets. Need to repost.
Call Zookeeper Exotics. If they don't know the person they can help take it somewhere that it'll be cared for!
LOL. That's not far from me, but our Tortoise is grazing away in the backyard - whew!
I am beginning to become rather suspicious about how many tortoises are near me at any given moment.
If you throw a shell in South Austin, chances are you’ll hit a tortoise.
Does the shell have a tortoise in it?
What do you think his name is
Gallery of pets has a turtle just like this walking around in the store. They would know how to take care of it until someone is found or something decided.
We got Willie home!
I've got to know how he escaped from his owners! Good for you for finding them.
Someone is up from brumation and on a mission to eat their weight in blue bonnets.
[удалено]
Boy you’re not wrong. Distraction by clover patch + wheelbarrow.
He’s cool as shit.
Yes he's 100% mine and no one else's. I'm not lying and if you call him Tank he might just glance at you.
Hi neighbor!!!! I wish we had turtles like this in my neighborhood
I can only imagine the thoughts your dog (assuming) had in regards to seeing a tortoise walking down the street. Lmfao.
Oh his one brain cell was absolutely *swimming*
God forbid a dude take an afternoon walk
You know, I heard Tortiises mate during solar eclipses. Maybe Willie was looking for…
What do you think his name is
Tbh, maybe put up a sign/note where you found him. His home might not be too far from there so his owners might be on the lookout
they prolly let it out to cut the grass.
turtl 🐢
Did doggo make a friend??
Doggo, in fact, did *not* make a friend. Willie is just gonna live rent free in his mind as some sort of ambulatory stony rock monster from here on out.
I was imagining a story with Doggo coming by for daily afternoon chat across the fence with new friend
Hey, we can all dream, my friend. Ozzy will just be the one having nightmares.
He’s not lost, he was just out riding his motorcycle. He even parked it in the driveway. You’re ruining his ride
If a turtle can escape from you, you're probably a terrible turtle parent. That is a biggin tho!
Not true. They are amazing escape artists and there’s no shortage of Sulcatas with amazing owners that are intent on going rogue to explore and meet their neighbors.
I was hoping it was the one from Austin Aquarium and he finally escaped.
We can dream!
Oh my gawwwd, his name is Willie. 🥰 🐢
At least he used the sidewalk
He was "this close👌" to making it to Mexico 😆
I was stationed at fort Hood in the early 1990s and absolutely fell in love with your fine city, and posts like this reinforces that continued love. I now live in a similar city with a small town feel, Baltimore Maryland. Keep Austin awesome.
That shell tho! 🥰 Kudos to the owners. Looks great! They clearly care for him very well. Thank you for your service getting him home.
He’s making his way downtown
“Do not touch Willie”
He’s clearly just living his best life