Mutilated tortoise, Bob, returns home

Bob the tortoise is scheduled to have surgery Tuesday but is eating on his own and no longer needs the feeding tube that was inserted while he was recovering at an animal rehabilitation center in Montecito, Sullivan said.

His first meal at home included his favorite foods: hibiscus flowers and roses.

Although stable, Bob is still unable to put weight on his rear left leg. "The concern is that he may have a tendon or nerve severed," Sullivan said.

Once he's under anesthesia Tuesday, Bob's slow-healing slash wounds will be examined by doctors at the Double R Veterinary Center in Calabasas.

"His deep wounds are not closing the way they should," Sullivan said. "The doctor is going to clean them out and close them up."

The tortoise, a special friend to the Sullivans' 6-year-old autistic son, William, was abducted July 7. William was ecstatic to have him home Friday, Sullivan said.

"William was having a really hard time with Bob gone," she said.

The family has built a temporary enclosure with screen material to allow Bob to exercise and keep flies off his wounds.

Jose "Tony" Mosqueda, 18, of Ventura has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of animal cruelty in the case. Mosqueda is facing up to three years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.