53-Year-Old Waltham Tortoise Homeless After Owner Dies Of Virus

WALTHAM, MA — She loves fruit salad and dandelions, attention from people and time outside. And at 53, she may just be the oldest animal that MSPCA-Angell in Boston has ever been charged with adopting into a new home.

She is "Ms. Jennifer," a tortoise whose Waltham owner died this week because of complications with the coronavirus and who the MSPCA is looking to place into a loving adoptive home. And according to the adoption center, she is the 10th animal to be surrendered to the MSPCA in Boston as a result of the pandemic.

"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," said Victoria Odynsky, manager of the MSPCA-Angell’s Boston adoption center.

UPDATE: Waltham Tortoise Finds New Home After More Than 3k Ask After Her

Ms. Jennifer arrived at the MSPCA on May 9 after her owner was admitted to the hospital. Since then, staffers have showered the reptile with affection (and vegetables) to make life at the shelter as pleasant as possible.

Her previous owner absolutely doted on Ms. Jennifer, scheduling her wellness checkups at Angell Animal Medical Center bringing her along on errands and showing her off to friends and strangers alike.

"Like we do for every animal in our charge, we’ll take the best possible care of Ms. Jennifer until we find her a suitable adoptive home," Odynsky said. "We like to think she knows the attention is for her, and that she feels the love and support of all of us taking care of her."

At just four pounds, this tortoise is about the size of a large dinner plate—tortoises grow very large in the wild but tend to stay small when raised in smaller homes. And even though she’s 53—and may be the oldest ever adoptable animal the MSPCA has ever cared for—she’s only just reached middle age, as tortoises routinely live upwards of 100 years, according to MSPCA officials.

If you or someone you know is interested in adopting Ms. Jennifer email adoption@mspca.org for more information or to schedule an appointment to meet her.

The MSPCA’s three animal care and adoption centers in Massachusetts are closed to the general public, but the organization is continuing to pair pets with adopters via individual appointments.

If you ever had any doubt a reptile could be considered "loveable" check out this video of Ms. Jennifer chomping away at dandelions at her birthday celebration:

UPDATE: Middle-Aged Tortoise Finds New Home

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).Have a press release you'd like posted on the Waltham Patch? Here's how to post a press release, opinion piece.