Bob, a friendly, 42-pound African tortoise, remains in intensive care in a Santa Barbara animal hospital after the pet was snatched from the backyard of a Ventura home over the weekend, mutilated and left to die behind an apartment complex. Authorities are asking for the public's help in solving the case, believed to be one of the worst incidents of animal abuse in Ventura in years and one that could bring felony charges.
Bob's neck and leathery legs were slashed and his dark green shell was stabbed repeatedly in a possible effort to re-create an episode of the Discovery Channel's Man vs. Wild cable television show, where the military-trained host kills and eats a tortoise to survive, an anonymous caller told the family.
...Bob was more than a household pet to the Sullivans, whose 6-year-old son William is autistic and until a couple years ago didn't speak to humans, communicating instead through sign language.
But with Bob, the little blond boy, who also has the rare neuron-genetic disorder Angelman Syndrome, was a regular chatterbox. The approachable reptile opened an inexplicable window into william's inner world, and the boy would bare details of his days at school and of private life, his mother said. - Ventura County Star
Queen Whackamole at Fuller&Fuller - "the couple is facing hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in veterinarian bills." Jeanie Vaughan at Turtle Dreams is working with the veterinarian treating bob... Bob seems to be in stable condition. If you'd like to help with the Sullivan's vet bill, you can send a check to Turtle Dreams, and make a note that it is for Bob's expenses:
Turtle Dreams
2298 Feather Hill Road,
Montecito, CA 93108-1542
(805) 969-5128
I challenge all food bloggers and foodies to send in whatever they would spend on a bag of flour, or sugar or "Starbucks for the week" to help Bob.
**UPDATE** Bob's condition is stabalizing and is cautiously improved.
The 42-pound African spurred tortoise was awake but traumatized during a morning examination and still has a feeding tube inserted in his stomach to provide food and medication, Vaughan said.
Anyone wishing to donate can send money to Washington Mutual, P.O. Box 877, Ventura, CA 93002.
"The fact that he is stable enough to be moved to rehab is a very good sign," said Vaughan, who has been monitoring the brutalized tortoise since he arrived at Adobe Animal Hospital in Santa Barbara. "But these are cold-blooded animals that take a long time to heal, so we will have to keep a close watch."
...Checks should be made out to William Sullivan in care of Bob, Account No. 492-105108-5. Wire transfer can be routed to Account No. 322271627. "The outpouring has been overwhelming," Dorothy Sullivan said this morning, adding that she got a phone call from a well-wisher in Montana. "After what happened to Bob, I had lost a lot of faith in the human race. But it's been absolutely wonderful how people are recognizing that Bob needs help and that what was done to him is a serious crime." - Ventura County Star
