Touche the tortoise is reunited with her owner after a 6 1/2 mile journey. Screenshot: CBS Los Angeles

FRESNO, Calif., Aug. 23 (UPI) -- A 100-year-old tortoise that escaped her owner's California yard was found 6 1/2 miles away attempting to romantically court a small dome.

Nancy Knauss said the tortoise, Touche, wandered out of her Fresno yard when a gardener left the gate open and the pet went on a slow-speed excursion across town.


Knauss said it took Touche, her pet for the past 55 years, 10 days to travel the length of 11 football fields to Gettysburg, where she was discovered by resident Steven George.

George said the nearsighted tortoise, which he recognized from Knauss' online post about the missing pet, appeared to be involved in a romantic courtship ritual with a small dome covering a water outlet in his neighbor's yard.

Knauss was overjoyed to be reunited with her longtime pet.

"Yes, there's a lot of bad in the world right now, but there's a lot of really good people that care, too," she told KMPH-TV.