Скачать или смотреть Tortoise Came Out of the Burrow and Walked Straight to Me Franklin’s Rescue

Last night we got a call that stopped everything: a Sulcata tortoise was down in a burrow, possibly sick—and a major rainstorm is moving into California this week.

Franklin’s story is the kind that breaks your heart and lights a fire at the same time. He spent the first seven years of his life as a classroom “pet” in an aquarium. When he became seriously ill, a kind family took him in and paid the veterinary bills to keep him alive. But they were told something that sounds “natural” and is tragically common: “Let him live in a burrow every winter.” No heat. No warm, controlled shelter. Just cold.

When they learned the truth—that Sulcatas are not built for cold winters and that prolonged chilling can be deadly—they called us. They were on a wait list… but with the storm coming, the risk wasn’t theoretical anymore.

So I drove nearly 250 miles last night fully prepared to dig him out. My words were simple: “I’ll just keep digging.”

And then something happened none of us expected.

Franklin came out of the hole… and walked straight to me—like he was rescuing himself. The family said it twice:
“I’ve never seen him come up to anyone like that.”
“I’ve never seen him come to someone calling his name.”

Today, Franklin has what every tortoise deserves: a safe, warm forever home—and a life he can actually thrive in.

Joshua Tree Reptile Haven is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a true forever-home sanctuary. We do not adopt out. We take in the ones who have nowhere else to go, and we commit to them for life—because “forever” is what a tortoise means.

If Franklin’s rescue moved you, please consider helping us keep this promise:

Donate: JoshuaTreeReptileHaven.org

Thank you for being here—especially on a day like today. This is what love looks like in real life.
This is why we exist. Not to judge the past, but to rewrite the future. Franklin’s story doesn’t end in a cold hole. It begins in a forever home.