Dubai family hunt for 'kidnapped' tortoise

A football club owner has appealed for help after his children’s giant tortoise was snatched from outside a Dubai hospital.

British expat Paul Scally says his family’s other tortoise, Amy Winehouse, has gone into her shell since Blake, named after the real late British singer Amy’s erratic ex-husband, was stolen.

Scally says Blake escaped from their Al Barsha home and plodded to the Saudi-German Hospital, where security staff spotted him and called a vet to help.

But by the time Al Safa Veterinary Clinic’s chief nurse Victoria Johnson arrived, Blake was already being loaded onto the back of a pick-up by a mysterious man, who wanted him for his young son.

Security staff took this photo of the man and his son as Blake was being taken.

Scally, who owns English League Two team Gillingham FC said his three daughters are devastated by Blake’s disappearance, while Amy is so depressed she is barely moving.

“Blake and Amy had been mating all the time, Amy has laid so many eggs. She is devastated and is in the house and doesn’t want to come out. She is really lost without him,” he said.

“The girls are also very stressed and upset. They really love those two tortoises, they’re part of the family. They are stressed for themselves to lose their pet but also very upset for Amy because she is without her Blake.”

Scally has turned detective in a bid to find his precious pet, which was gifted to the family, along with Amy, by an Emirati VIP. He got a big break when the security manager at the hospital recalled that the car was an Omani-registered black Chevrolet Silverado pickup.

Scally called General Motors Middle East’s headquarters in Cairo, which traced the vehicle to the largest Chevrolet dealer in Oman. He now has the registration number and two mobile numbers for the owner of the car.

He says he has also drafted in the help of Dubai Police and officers are investigating the case.

Have you seen Blake? Email sean@7days.ae with any information.