It's not all bad: A long-lost pet

(Image credit: Thinkstock)

last updated 8 January 2015

Thirty years ago, the Almeida family lost their beloved tortoise, Manuela. An extensive search came up short, and the Brazilian family sadly assumed their pet was gone for good. But in January, after the Almeida patriarch passed away, the family cleaned out dad's locked, second-floor storage unit and got a pleasant surprise. The Almeidas were piling boxes on the street for the garbage man to collect when a neighbor said, "You're not throwing out the turtle as well, are you?" Sure enough, it was Manuela — incredibly, alive and well.

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Lauren Hansen produces The Weekâ€™s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.