Box turtle heals from puncture to shell

As much as Virginia Frati loves animals, the founder of the Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons said she doesn't normally kiss the creatures her organization saves.

But for the eastern box turtle recuperating from a 3-inch nail driven through its shell -- possibly with a nail gun -- she made an exception.

"I just couldn't believe what this poor animal had been through," she said Saturday.

The 17-year-old turtle that was found distressed in a Sag Harbor backyard required surgery to remove the nail and seal the puncture wound in its shell. Three days after the procedure, performed by Dr. Jonathan Turetsky at the Veterinary Clinic of East Hampton, the turtle is eating and drinking and showing no sign of distress.

The reptile will be returned to the wild once the risk of infection has passed. Antibiotics are being administered as a precaution.

The nail narrowly missed the turtle's spinal column and avoided vital organs.

Although relieved that the turtle survived, workers at the Hampton Bays shelter were disgusted someone would do such a thing.

"This is particularly disturbing because it was obviously an intentional act," said Carl Stalnaker, a shelter volunteer. "Someone drove, either with a hammer or a nail gun, that nail through the animal's body -- clear through."

Box turtles are not endangered, but they are a "species of concern" in New York State, and their numbers are being monitored by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for injuring the turtle.