Public safety officials are attempting to reunite a lost tortoise with its owner after an ambulance crew came upon the animal Thursday on an El Cajon sidewalk.

Heartland Fire & Rescue paramedics from an American Medical Response ambulance came across the tortoise walking down a sidewalk near West Washington and Emerald avenues, the fire department said in a Facebook post.

The tortoise was “unable to outrun the paramedics, and possibly suffering from a little ‘shell shock,’” the agency joked.

Strapped to a gurney, the tortoise was taken to the El Cajon Animal Shelter to be evaluated by veterinarians and held until the owner claims it.


Riggins writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.