As the proud owner of a tortoise, Cathryn Scott was used to her pet enjoying life in the slow lane.
But Tommy the tortoise had other ideas – and last week staged an escape which saw him scoot a mile across town in a matter of hours.
The adventurous reptile, thought to be aged about 60, broke out of his pen in Mrs Scott’s back garden in Selkirk before navigating the town centre and crossing three main roads and a bridge.
He was found relaxing on a grassy area outside a nursing home and was reunited with his worried owner the next day after she had put out an appeal on Facebook to find her missing pet.
Yesterday Mrs Scott, who has had Tommy for 40 years, said she was surprised by how far her tortoise travelled, but that he tends to be more lively in hot weather.
As the proud owner of a tortoise, Cathryn Scott was used to her pet enjoying life in the slow lane
But Tommy the tortoise had other ideas – and last week staged an escape which saw him scoot a mile across town in a matter of hours
The adventurous reptile, thought to be aged about 60, broke out of his pen in Mrs Scott’s back garden in Selkirk before navigating the town centre and crossing three main roads and a bridge
She said: ‘When it’s warm, he is more speedy than people give him credit for. People can assume they are quite slow.
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‘Somebody suggested he might have been looking for some lady love. He goes for long periods without much excitement.
‘We’ve got the A7 running through the town and he has managed to cross that and a bridge over the river.
‘I think it’s a bit like 50 things to do before you die, like he has got a bucket list.
‘People say that tortoises can live to be 100 so maybe it was a mid-life crisis.
‘I was quite upset when he went missing. I’ve had him my whole life so I felt quite gutted.’
Mrs Scott, 46, was seven when her family was given two tortoises then believed to be then aged 19, which they named Tommy and Tiny and kept in their garden in South Yorkshire
Tiny was lost while Mrs Scott was still a child, but Tommy moved with her to Bristol and then to the Borders after she met her Scottish husband, Mick
Mrs Scott, 46, was seven when her family was given two tortoises then believed to be then aged 19, which they named Tommy and Tiny and kept in their garden in South Yorkshire.
Tiny was lost while Mrs Scott was still a child, but Tommy moved with her to Bristol and then to the Borders after she met her Scottish husband, Mick.
She jokingly suggested attaching an Apple AirTag tracking device – intended to stop possessions like purses and bags going astray – to help her keep tabs on her wandering tortoise.
