Now, this is just hilarious (but still heartwarming, nonetheless).
If your beloved pet was missing, what’s the first thing you would do? Well, if it was us, we’d start by posting a photo of our pet all over social media, in the hopes that fast Internet sleuths may also be of assistance to us. We could also go for the more traditional route of putting up printed posters for missing pets all around nearby locations.
After that, it might just turn into a waiting game, really. It’s because some lost animals may never be seen again. Thankfully, it didn’t happen in this one case. A family that lived in Rio de Janeiro discovered that their beloved pet tortoise went missing. The animal, named Manuela, was assumed to have gotten out of their home while they were having electrical work done inside.
After that, they did their best to look for her, until they accepted that she would never return, mourned her, and then moved on. A whopping 30 years later, the family was shocked to find her thriving above in their attic. They only decided to look in the attic after the family’s patriarch passed away, and that’s how they reunited with their tortoise.
According to Manuela’s family, she might have survived by eating termite larvae and getting her moisture intake from the young insects as well. Also, after taking her to the vet, the family was hit with another surprise: Manuela was a Manuel!
Image credit: Archie Binamira