Butte courier delivering wayward reptile to Mojave

By John Grant Emeigh - 09/12/2008

For a hitchhiker without thumbs, Sadie gets around really well.

"Sadie the Hitchhiking Tortoise" made a pit stop in Butte Thursday on an odyssey that's taking him from the Pacific Northwest to the Mojave Desert.

Thanks to a Butte delivery business, this reptilian Jack Kerouac is getting a much needed lift to his new home in the warm desert.

Tim Critelli of Critelli Couriers said he wanted to help after hearing about Sadie's plight on the radio last week. The 10-inch tortoise mysteriously was found at a U.S. 95 rest stop in Idaho. With nowhere to go, the wayward critter was taken to the Kiwani Wambli Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, north of Spokane, where he's been living since July.

However, the coming winter would have been too much for this cold-blooded creature — he needed a warmer place to live. Sadie is estimated to be between 15 to 25 years old. Desert tortoises can live up to 60 years, and some as long as 100 years.

Fortunately, a couple from Blythe, Calif., agreed to adopt Sadie before the weather turned blustery, but they need someone to transport the tortoise.

Critelli, whose been operating in Butte at 1901 S. Franklin for two years, decided to give Sadie a free ride. An animal lover, Critelli said he wanted to "pay it forward" and help get Sadie to his new home.

"There are times everyone should do something nice," he said.

Critelli and some of his family left Thursday morning to drive Sadie the more than 1,000 miles to Blythe in a van with handmade signs stating "Mojave or Bust." The trip is expected to take up to 15 hours.

Critelli's sister, Colette Beierle, of Billings, made the long haul to Spokane Wednesday to pick up Sadie from the wildlife center. They arrived in Butte at 3 a.m. Thursday. When they stopped at the Days Inn in Butte, a couple from Canada overheard their story about giving Sadie a free ride to his new home.

"They paid for our room for the night," Beierle said.

Rent-A-Center in Butte also let Critelli borrow a video camera for free so they can document their trip with Sadie. Pete's Auto Sales in Billings footed the gas bill for the trip, Critelli said.

Critelli has operated his family-owned courier business out of Billings for nine years, before opening a branch in Butte.

Sadie spent the morning wandering around the office at a pace surprisingly quick for a creature that carries his house on his back. Beierle explained that it was originally thought the tortoise was a female — hence the name Sadie — but it turns out he's a he.

John Grant Emeigh may be reached via e-mail at john.emeigh@lee.net or by telephone, 496-5511.