By Robert Medley
Managing Editor
Ferb the tortoise was missing from its Piedmont home for nine weeks. Then amazingly Wednesday, Nov. 23, Ed Zaidi saw something in the field behind his home near the Piedmont High School that looked like a clump of dirt. It was Ferb. Finally.
Ferb is owned by Ed’s wife Cherrie Zaidi. Ed called her Wednesday afternoon.
“I was at work when my husband called and said, ‘Guess who just came home?’ He was outside talking to a man about concrete when he looked up and saw Ferb in the field west of Windmill Park,” Cherrie Zaidi said.
Ferb, an African tortoise, would not have been able to survive temperatures under 40 degrees.
Cherrie Zaidi said Wednesday morning she upped the reward money for Ferb to $1,000 from what had been $500. She also offered $100 for any information.
There had been drones, ground searches, and much effort put into searching for Ferb since the tortoise went missing in August.
Ferb also has a friend at home named Phineas, who had been patiently waiting for Ferb’s return.
Cherrie Zaidi thinks it is possible someone could have dropped Ferb off in the field near her home Wednesday. Right now, she is just happy to get the tortoise back with no questions asked.
“I can’t even explain it. I can’t believe it. I’m going to have to pinch myself,” Cherrie Zaidi said.
Ferb found a way to escape from the backyard near the Piedmont High School tennis courts on Aug. 19.
Ferb is about the size of a basketball, owner Cherrie does not know if the 25-pound African Sulcata tortoise is a male or female, but she said she did believe the 4-year-old pet could survive on prairie wildflowers and grass in Oklahoma before a hard freeze.
