Beloved Pet Tortoise Returned After Florida Man Pays $1K “Ransom”

I had a pet tortoise once. Her name was Mrs. Doubtfire. One day I came home to my house in Cape Coral and Mrs. Doubtfire had disappeared. Vanished. I thought she was maybe stolen. But in reality, she just kinda disappeared. Turns out, Mrs. Doubtfire was a Mr. and it was mating season.

Luckily, I had a good neighbor that brought her... I mean him,  back to me free of charge.  The same can't be said of today's Florida Man, Merrick Westlund, a resident of Largo.

According to News10,  he had to pay a hefty $1,000 fee to bring back his beloved African sulcata  pet tortoise, Shelby, from a nearby animal sanctuary.

Shelby had been Westlund's best buddy for 18 years but went missing one day, leaving Westlund really sad. Listen, I get it. If your pet tortoise goes missing, it's a bad day. And that tortoise meant the world to Merrick!

After searching high and low, Merrick finally got leads that led him to the sanctuary owner who had his pet tortoise Shelby.

The owner confessed to having Shelby but shockingly demanded payment for her safe return. Wow! That almost feels like ransom to me. Merrick even got the authorities involved but eventually gave into the owner's demand for cash for HIS pet tortoise.

The owner defended his actions by saying that he had to pick the animal up and board the animal. You know, the one that wasn't his. Oh, did I mention this owner was featured in the Tiger King  documentary? That should say it all.  Merrick criticized the owner for not exploring other avenues to reunite Shelby with her rightful owner.

Under Florida law, there could be grounds for Merrick's claim considering animals as property, so maybe he has a shot at getting his money back. Despite all the drama, I would imagine that Merrick felt relief at Shelby's safe return.

He had better make sure to build a better enclosure so she doesn't escape again.  He doesn't want to be shell shocked by another disappearing act.

Real pets, fictional pets, we love them all.   Most humans tend to love animals.  There's a reason dogs are called man's best friend.

You can talk to your pet and they won't talk back.  They love you unconditionally and they show you.  They make the cutest little faces that melt your heart.

When we lose a pet, it's like losing a member of the family, well it is losing a member of the family.  They become your children, siblings to your kids, they're one of us.

When we came across this list of fictional pets, we had to share.  Ranker recently put a list together of some of the cutest fictional pets on the big screen and television over the last several decades, that you wish were your own.

There are far too many to share here, so you can see all of the adorably famous pups and pets here.  I went ahead and chose the top 15 based off of my discussion with my co worker Joe.

We were both surprisingly passionate about these on screen animals.  I got especially pulled in seeing Shadow from Homeward Bound:  The Incredible Journey.  My kids refuse to watch movies that aren't in HD, so I forget about some of my own childhood favorites.

Clearly from my list, you'll see I prefer dogs.  I did rank these in order of my personal favorites.  Tell us yours in the comments.

By the end of this list, you'll see this movie is a favorite of mine.  Chance was so loveable and playful and always getting into trouble.

Garfield's attitude was my favorite.  Not a care in the world.  Just give him some lasagna.

Sweet and innocent just like little Timmy.  One of my all time favorites growing up.

Seriously?  What's not to love about Tigger!  So much energy.  All. The. Time.  Maybe we should change the term to "Big Tigger Energy"

St. Bernard's are enormous and I'm not sure how I would do with a dog this size in real life.  But, his cuddly face and antics are adorable.

My mom dressed up as Clifford for a book fair when I was in 4th grade.  I always remember that and think that's why he stands out.

Another family reference here.  My brother's all time fave.  Abu is loyal and a true sidekick.

His love for Elroy and George is unmatched.  The way he said "I ruv roo, Reorge."  Aww so cute!

The excitement Dino has greeting Fred is very similar to my dog after going 30 minutes without seeing me.

It's like he's so ugly he's cute, if that makes sense.  But, it would be fun to have a little Gizmo running around.  Not so sure the dog would enjoy it.

Pascal always keeps us laughing.  Good to have around.

I mean what is better than a pet that flies and breathes fire?

Lovable old Comet.  One of my favorite shows growing up.  He was always there to listen, even though he couldn't talk back.  More people should take a page out of Comet's book.

Oh my gosh, Gus Gus!  His little face.  I love him more than Cinderella.

Old and wise.  Man's best friend.  I absolutely love Shadow.