Turtle Rescued From Being Duct-Taped to Balloons

Tying a bunch of balloons to a house makes a really sweet, heartwarming cartoon movie. Tying a bunch of balloons to a turtle, on the other hand, just makes you a giant jerk. But that didn't stop some horrible person in California from duct-taping a massive bunch of helium-filled balloons to a box turtle and releasing it into the air. Fortunately, the turtle was rescued and an investigation is underway.

The turtle was spotted in a eucalyptus tree in a San Diego neighborhood by residents who promptly called the Humane Society. The Humane Society, in turn, contacted the fire department to come retrieve the animal. It took about an hour for a rescue team to arrive, and naturally once they did arrive, a gust of wind gently blew the turtle out of the tree and back to the ground, where it was cut loose from its duct-tape harness and taken into captivity.

The creature was fortunately left physically unharmed, and is being held by the Humane Society while an investigation is launched. If the person(s) who decided to send the turtle flying is caught, they could be charged with animal cruelty among the unofficial charge of being an awful human being. The neighbor who contacted the Humane Society has offered to adopt the turtle, so maybe this story will have a happy ending, after all.