In the six years that she had Hershey, a one-kilogram, 20-centimetre-wide red-footed tortoise, Chloe MacBeth did what she could to make the reptile a part of her family.
Ms. MacBeth, 18, often let the tortoise roam around her parents' Cabbagetown home. Hershey -- named for her chocolate-brown carapace -- would often lumber right up to the MacBeths' three dogs, deigning to duck inside her shell only when the scent hounds tried to flip her over.
The produce man at a nearby Dominion kept extra kale leaves around just for Hershey (kale was her favourite food), as though for a preferred customer.
And even after the events of March 27, Ms. Macbeth still speaks of Hershey as a "she," and definitely not an "it."
She persists in giving the animal the more human, more alive personal pronoun. She wants to hold out hope.
On Easter Sunday, Ms. MacBeth was cleaning Hershey's indoor terrarium. She took the tortoise out and put her down for a moment. Neither Ms. MacBeth, nor her parents, Helga and Paul, have seen Hershey since.
So in a neighbourhood where hand-lettered "missing dog" and "lost cat" posters often cover every hydro pole, Ms. MacBeth made a poster of her own, and stuck it on the fence outside her family's Spruce Street home.
"Lost tortoise!!!" the poster says. "She's an adventurer but her mom is really worried about her since she can't survive alone!!"
They've already searched the house. Now they suspect that Hershey may have found a way outside: They left the door open to air out the house one day; or maybe Hershey hitchhiked out with one of the dogs.
"She can really motor it when she wants to," Ms. MacBeth says. "Maybe as fast as a little old granny.
"Hopefully some kid picked her up and is keeping her as a pet. Hopefully."
Barring the chance that Hershey has found a warm spot under a rotting compost pile somewhere, a tortoise's chances in Toronto springtime weather aren't so good.
"Otherwise she's in tortoise heaven."
If you find Hershey, Ms. MacBeth would love to hear from you. She's at 416-803-3582.
Our Town features stories about urban life by Globe and Mail readers. If you have an anecdote, an overheard conversation or a telling moment to share, please e-mail it to ourtown@globeandmail.ca or visit the Our Town link at http://www.globeandmail.com/national. Please include your name, address and daytime phone number.