Fluffy found: Lost turtle returned safely to St. John's family

A family in St. John's is delighted to report its lost turtle, Fluffy, has been found and safely returned home.

The pet turtle had been missing for 10 days in the east end of the city.

• Have you seen Fluffy? Family looking for missing pet turtle in St. John's

"Who needs to win a million dollars at Chase the Ace, we got Fluffy back!" Susan Flanagan, the mother of Fluffy's owner, told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show.

Fluffy comes home

Flanagan said she was home alone when her neighbour, Janice, rang the doorbell.

"When I came down Janice was dressed for work in a dress and her earrings and she looked like the Avon lady and when I opened the door she said 'I found your turtle!'," Flanagan said.

"She didn't even change out of her work clothes, she looked gorgeous — and she started raking and she was down at the back of her backyard, which backs on to Rennie's River, about 10 houses away from us on the other side of the street, and she said 'Ooh, what's that?' And there he was, right down by her fence."

Flanagan's son Declan has two turtles, Fluffy and Flippy, who both went missing earlier this month. Though Flippy was found within a few days by neighbours, the family had been worried when there was no sign of Fluffy.

"[The] children were all in shock, because [after] 10 days we had sort of given up hope. We expected him to be down in Quidi Vidi fighting with eagles," Flanagan said.

Public help

Once the news spread that Fluffy was missing, the family received all kinds of support from friends and strangers.

"A lady named Jessica in C.B.S. contacted me two days ago and offered me her turtle free of charge," Flanagan said. "I think she was just heartbroken that Declan lost his turtle. It was very nice."

To prevent the great turtle escape from happening again, Flanagan has increased the fence around the turtle's pond in the family's backyard.

Flanagan said her son had the biggest smile on his face when he found out Fluffy was back — and Flippy was happy, too.

"Flippy was so, so excited as well. He ran over and was poking at him … it's almost like they were dancing around each other as if they were on a first date," Flanagan said.