LEHIGHTON, Pa. — If you've ever been to the Mahoning Valley Animal Hospital, you may have seen this guy Tank the tortoise.
But on Friday, he was discovered missing.
"I think he caught wind that Dr. Mike was going to bring him in for the season, and he just decided he was going to high-tail it and go on an adventure," said Megan Mcfarland a veterinarian technician at the animal hospital near Lehighton.
She says Tank lives on the property with his owner and hospital Veterinarian Dr. Mike Nelson.
Tank was outside in his pen when he made a break for it overnight Thursday into Friday morning.
"We walked out to the yard; all of us looked around the perimeter just to make sure was he hiding somewhere that Dr. Mike just didn't see, and Dr. Mike noticed there was a hole in the fence that the little sucker plowed through," McFarland said.
And according to staff, this isn't Tank's first time slipping past the wire fence.
"I call him Houdini. This is probably the 3rd time he's gotten loose. We found him the past two times, obviously relatively close. The last time he was missing for maybe about two weeks," McFarland.
But this time is different; the people who love him are concerned that colder weather could harm him.
"He's normally in a habitat that's slightly warmer," McFarland said. "So as our temperature is starting to dip, we get concerned because as it gets colder, it's not an ideal temperature for him, and there is a possibility that he could pass away out there."
McFarland asks anyone who lives or travels in the area of Blakeslee Boulevard Drive, near the animal hospital to be on the lookout for Tank.
"He is very food-oriented. So if anybody has a garden, is there any chance you see a large boulder eating in your garden? It's probably Tank. Don't be alarmed he is not vicious. He doesn't bite. He is actually very sweet," McFarland said.
Those here at the animal hospital are hopeful they will find Tank, and when they do, they're going to put a GPS tracker on him so he doesn't pull a stunt like this again.
If you come across Tank, you're asked to call the Mahoning Valley Animal Hospital at 570 386-3088.
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