'Rocky's Home!' 100-Lb. Pet Tortoise Survives L.A. Wildfires and Reunites with His Family

Rocky, a 100-pound tortoise, is not actually the first Los Angeles tortoise to be reunited with his family amid the fires

Rachel Raposas
·2 min read
San Dimas Sheriff's Station/Instagram Rocky, a 100-pound tortoise, reuniting with his family

San Dimas Sheriff's Station/Instagram

Rocky, a 100-pound tortoise, reuniting with his family

Rocky's home!

Amid the devastation caused by the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles County, an Altadena family is celebrating some welcomed good news — the San Dimas Sheriff's Station recently found the family's pet tortoise alive.

Related: Pets Lost in L.A. Fires Are Being Reunited with Their Desperate Owners, Thanks to This Charity

The 100-pound tortoise, named Rocky, was found in a hole in the family's backyard, the sheriff's office said. The family's home was destroyed in the Eaton fire, ABC News reported.

In a video shared to Instagram by the San Dimas Sheriff's Station, a woman approaches the officers, one of whom was able to carry Rocky, and hugs each one of them. As the tortoise reunites with his family, the woman raises her arms over her head to cheer, "Yay! Rocky's home!"

Rocky is not the first tortoise to reunite with their family after surviving the L.A. fires. A Pasadena family forced to evacuate their home on Jan. 7 recently reunited with their pet. When the family evacuated, a Pasadena Humane officer helped them move their 28-year-old, 200-pound tortoise, Huckleberry, out of the house.

San Dimas Sheriff's Station/Instagram Rocky the tortoise

San Dimas Sheriff's Station/Instagram

Rocky the tortoise

Related: 2 Cats Trapped in Their Home amid L.A. Fires Reunited with Owner: 'Touching Moment Filled with Hugs'

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Unable to find a place to evacuate with Huckleberry, the family opted to keep the tortoise at Pasadena Humane until they could adequately care for him again. The shelter announced in a Jan. 17 Instagram video that the tortoise reunited with his family after his stay there. Huckleberry is in good company; the shelter has temporarily cared for hundreds of pets since the wildfires started, helping to keep the animals and their owners safe.

Pasadena Humane's video announcing Huckleberry's return to his family shows the reptile riding a flat cart and being lifted into the back of a car.

"We were happy to give this tortoise a safe place to stay," Pasadena Humane wrote on the video. "And even happier to see him go home!"

Read the original article on People

Latest Stories

  • Vets Are Warning Dog Owners About This Seemingly Harmless Way They Show Affection To Their Pet

    Sorry to be the ones to tell you, but you may want to watch this habit.

  • Shelter Saves Abandoned Dog Left Tied to Pole in 'Freezing' Va. Weather, Asks Pup's Former Owner to 'Do Better'

    The pup is now "doing great" after being taken in by Richmond Animal Care and Control, a spokesperson for the animal shelter tells PEOPLE

  • Teen Told His Older Brother He 'Deserved to Be Dumped' After the 20-Year-Old Made Fun of Him for Crying Over Dog's Death

    A teenager used his sibling's recent breakup against him when he was teased for crying over the loss of their pet

  • Chrissy Teigen Mourns the Death of Her Dog Penny: 'She Was There for Us for Every Loss, Every Joy'

    "We were so beyond lucky to have you," Teigen wrote of the French bulldog, who happened to be born on her and husband John Legend's wedding day

  • Cat Sitter Fed Up with ‘Ridiculous’ Requests Is Called ‘Manipulative’ for Raising Client's Fee

    The pet sitter says their responsibilities have increased "every month" since taking on the new client

  • 15 Cats Found Dead Inside Home That Was Raided After Tip About Animals ‘Living in Unsanitary Conditions’

    Six other cats were found alive at the home, the Ingham County Animal Control and Shelter said

  • Shanghai celebrates Lunar New Year with a dogs' dinner

    Yakult enthusiastically took a bite of the plated, shredded chicken and lettuce in front of him before licking his lips. The black and white collie, named after a Japanese yoghurt drink, was one of eleven dogs gathered with their owners at the Kongshan Yunnan eatery in Shanghai to tuck into a meal organised to resemble the dinner traditionally held on the eve of the Lunar New Year holiday. But in China, where people are choosing to adopt pets rather than have children, restaurants or online stores have started to offer dinner events and meal sets for cats and dogs, with at least one held a few days early on Saturday.

  • Trump Zeroes in on Country to Dump Migrants From All Over

    President Donald Trump seems to have finally found a country that won’t rebuff his plan to send it hordes of undocumented immigrants who don’t hail from that nation. The Trump administration is working on a plan with El Salvador that would allow the Latin American country to accept immigrants from the U.S. even if they are not El Salvadorian, according to CBS News. The plan would designate El Salvador as a “Safe Third Country” as part of the agreement, pushing the migrants to seek asylum there i

  • US, Colombia clash over deportations and raise tariffs in show of Trump's pledge to limit migration

    BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The United States and Colombia, long close partners in anti-narcotics efforts, clashed Sunday over the deportation of migrants and imposed tariffs on each other’s goods in a show of what countries could face if they intervene in the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

  • Princess Lilibet's tumbling hair is so long on picnic with mum Meghan Markle

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's daughter, Princess Lilibet, three, appeared in a photograph on the Duchess of Sussex's Instagram - and her tumbling hair is so long compared to the last time she was officially photographed.

  • Trump directs US government to override California water policies if necessary

    WASHINGTON -U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered the federal government to override the state of California's water-management practices to bolster firefighting efforts. The executive order comes two days after Trump visited the Los Angeles region, which has been devastated by a series of wildfires. Trump has falsely claimed that Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and other officials refused to provide water from the northern part of the state to fight the fires.

  • Trump discusses Canada during flight on Air Force One

    Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, U.S. President Donald Trump made some of his most extensive comments about his recent suggestions that Canada could become part of the U.S.

  • Bill Gates Rips Into Elon Musk for His Right-Wing Pivot: ‘Insane S***’

    Microsoft founder Bill Gates weighed in on his fellow billionaire Elon Musk’s international political ambitions—twice calling the Tesla and SpaceX owner’s support for far-right movements abroad “insane.” The billionaire spent the weekend giving interviews for his upcoming memoir Source Code: My Beginnings, which hits bookstores in February. During an interview with The Sunday Times, Gates was uncharacteristically candid with his opinions on Musk’s recent efforts to influence politics in the UK a

  • Quebec snowbirds fleeing Sunshine State in droves due to high costs, weak loonie

    Many Quebec snowbirds living in Florida are listing their properties for sale, citing the high cost of living and an unfavourable exchange rate due to the declining value of the Canadian dollar. Jasmin Gosselin has been escaping Quebec's freezing temperatures for over 20 years, seeking refuge in his Boynton Beach condo, nestled in the Sunshine State. But his comfort doesn't come at the expense of his convictions. Gosselin has recently decided to sell his condo, citing U.S. President Donald Trump

  • Trump Picks Sides in Elon Musk Feud—And It’s Not With the ‘First Buddy’

    President Donald Trump has praised U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, striking the complete opposite tone of his billionaire ally Elon Musk, who has called for the British leader’s ouster. Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One on Saturday, Trump said the prime minister was “doing a very good job” and that the two have a “very good relationship.” “I get along with him well,” he said of Starmer, who shared a two hour dinner with the president at Trump Tower in New York City in September. “I

  • Pete Hegseth Gives US Troops New Marching Orders Hours After Confirmation

    Pete Hegseth ordered America’s troops to “put America first” and “never back down” in a “message to the force” hours after his razor-thin confirmation as Defense Secretary. In a press release published by the Pentagon on Saturday after his swearing-in ceremony, Hegseth wrote, “The President gave us a clear mission: achieve Peace through Strength. We will do this in three ways—by restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military, and reestablishing deterrence.” “We are American warriors,” he c

  • Mexico refuses US military flight deporting migrants, sources say

    WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico has refused a request from President Donald Trump's administration to allow a U.S. military aircraft deporting migrants to land in the country, a U.S. official and a Mexican official told Reuters. U.S. military aircraft carried out two similar flights, each with about 80 migrants, to Guatemala on Friday. The government was not able to move ahead with a plan to have a C-17 transport aircraft land in Mexico, however, after the country denied permission.

  • Trump Fires Government Watchdogs in ‘Illegal’ Midnight Massacre

    President Donald Trump fired at least 15 government watchdogs in a Friday night bloodbath, marking his latest act in brazen defiance of the country’s norms and laws, according to multiple reports. The move appears to violate federal law, which requires at least 30 days’ notice to Congress before terminating an inspector general, as the watchdogs are officially known. However, Politico’s top legal reporter, Kyle Cheney, suggested on X that the White House is likely to argue that the violated prov

  • Trump's billionaire buddies could be the answer to Canada's trade tariff woes, expert says

    While signing executive orders, U.S. President Donald Trump said Canada and Mexico could see a 25 per cent trade tariff as early as Feb. 1. As the date fast approaches, one expert believes Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos could be the solution to the problem.

  • Trump imposes tariffs, sanctions on Colombia after it refuses deportation flights

    WASHINGTON/BOGOTA (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Sunday he will impose sweeping retaliatory measures on Colombia, including tariffs and sanctions, after the South American country turned away two U.S. military aircraft with migrants being deported as part of the new U.S. administration's immigration crackdown. Colombia, the third largest U.S. trading partner in Latin America, swiftly responded, threatening a 50% tariff on U.S. goods.