VENTURA – Police offered a $1,000 reward Tuesday for information leading to the arrest of whoever mutilated a family's pet tortoise.
The 40-pound desert tortoise named Bob was stolen Saturday from Bill and Dorothy Sullivan's front yard in Ventura.
The endangered reptile was later found behind an apartment complex, with multiple cuts to its head, throat, limbs and shell, police Lt. Ray Vance said.
“Someone used an ice pick type of knife to stab through the shell,” Vance said.
The Sullivans said they believed the suspects tried to remove Bob from his shell. The tortoise was examined by a veterinarian and it was unclear whether the animal will survive his injuries, police said.
“This turtle suffered so badly,” Dorothy Sullivan told KCAL-TV as she fought back tears. “It never should have happened. He was in a safe environment with people who loved him.”
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