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53-Year Old Tortoise Whose Owner Died of COVID19 Gets Adopted

Ms. Jennifer had celebrated her 53rd birthday when she was adopted.

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A tortoise in Massachusetts whose owner died from the COVID19 upper respiratory infection, has been adopted. Ms. Jennifer, a 53-year old chelonian arrived May 9 at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals when her keeper was hospitalized.

 

Ms. Jennifer was adopted by an anonymous "bona fide reptile/turtle expert," according to the MSPCA. The 4-lb reptile had received more than 3,000 phone and email inquiries from prospective adopters, which, according to the MSPCA, made her one of the most popular animals ever housed at the shelter. 

“We’re so grateful to them for opening their heart and home to this amazing animal,” the organization said in a statement.

The MSPCA noted that the global pandemic has caused a lot of heartbreak for those who can no longer care for their pets or who passed away due to the virus, which has so far killed 100,000 people in the United States. 

“We continue to see animals coming to us because their owners have either died, fallen too ill to care for them, or been so impacted economically that they could no longer care for the pets,” Victoria Odynsky, manager of the MSPCA-Angell’s Boston adoption center said in a statement.