Pet Tortoise Missing from Foster City Home

Peninsula residents are asked to be on the lookout for a pet tortoise named "Pokey," who has been missing from his Foster City home for two weeks.

Foster City resident Aubrey Throngmorton's tortoise escaped from her yard on July 9, according to the Peninsula Humane Society.

Ten days later, Throngmorton was contacted by another local resident who found the tortoise, but left him loose at the Peninsula Humane Society's 12 Airport Blvd. main entrance hours before the shelter’s 11 a.m. opening. The tortoise wandered off and remains missing.

PHS/SPCA did not learn about Pokey until July 19, when the owner contacted the shelter. Throgmorton and PHS/SPCA staff have been combing the property for days, with no luck. It is believed that the tortoise was left in the parking lot on July 10 or 11.

PHS/SPCA was never in possession of Pokey, a brown African Spurred Tortoise, approximately 2 feet in diameter and weighing 25-30 lbs. Pokey was originally missing near Port Royal Ave. and Edgewater Blvd. in Foster City. The owner has had Pokey for 18 years, since he was hatchling.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Throgmorton at audfang@yahoo.com or 650/619-0517. She is offering a $100 reward for the safe return of her tortoise.

Pokey is very gentle and does not bite, according to Throngmorton. He makes a hissing sound when frightened and will go into his shell, but is used to people and being handled.

PHS/SPCA has a designated after hours area for these very situations, when people need to drop-off an animal before or after the shelter is open to the public. It is believed that the man who found Pokey did not see this area or signage directing residents to it.