Tonka the Turtle Gets Wheels
Cool. Here’s an old story about a frog with a fake leg.
How do you upgrade a tortoise? With wheels, of course! Say hello to Tonka the tortoise. Tonka got in a tussle with a local dog, who bit off one of her legs. Unable to walk around properly, rescuers had the idea to strap the wheels from a Tonka truck to her underside, turning her into the fastest tortoise around.
Speedy Tonka has got wheels
www.thesun.co.uk | By LEON WATSON | Published: 27 May 2009
THIS tortoise on wheels could give any hare a run for its money — despite having her leg bitten off by a dog.
When vets found poor Tonka her left front leg was in tatters and they feared she would never be able to move properly again.
But after patching her up one rescuer had an ingenious idea to help the little reptile — using wheels from a child’s toy truck.
Now she has gone from three legs to four wheels and been named Tonka in honour of the toy which gave her a new lease of life.
The reptile is able to roam with ease using her back legs to push her along while steering with her front right leg.
Tonka was found in the hills of San Mateo County, California, by a resident, who dropped her off at the local Society For The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals branch, Peninsula Humane Society.
Local resident John O’Dea, 35, has now adopted Tonka and said she loves nothing better than racing through the vegetable patch and going for “walks”.
Surfer John said: “She is doing really well and loves roaming around the vegetable garden on her shiny new wheels.”