Turtle Tossed in Trash Receives Love, Support, and Care Package from Turtleshack.com - Turtleshack.com Ships Turtle-Relief to Neytiri, The Helm Family's Flight-Stopping Reptile

    PORT RICHEY, FL, July 02, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- An incident involving a taxiing AirTran Airways flight, three Helm sisters from Milwaukee, WI, and their little turtle Neytiri, whom they discarded into the trash in order to avoid missing a flight home, recently caught the attention of TurtleShack.com owner, Duane Swaniec of Orlando, FL. To help the Helms forget about their ordeal and to help the turtle recuperate, Mr. Swaniec, and TurtleShack.com, shipped the Helm family a variety of turtle supplies. The supplies will help the Helms provide proper care to their traumatized turtle, Neytiri. Thankfully, after the turtle was discarded, it was able to be retrieved and returned to the Helm family on a separate trip.

"I couldn't believe it when I heard it," says Duane Swaniec, owner of TurtleShack.com, the internet's largest provider to the public of turtles, tortoises and turtle products. "I just tried to imagine if that had happened to my daughter. What if she threw away her little turtle because they wouldn't let her fly home? I just couldn't imagine that."

The sisters threw the little turtle and its cage into the garbage so that they could board their original flight from Atlanta to their Milwaukee home. They had made it past the security checkpoint and beyond the gate and boarded the flight before it was turned around while taxiing because they had the extra passenger, Neytiri, with them. AirTran states they never told the sisters they had to throw their turtle away, but rather that the only animals allowed on flights are small dogs, cats and household birds. They were offered a later flight if they took care of the turtle somehow.

"Thank you for being so generous," said Tammy Helm, the mother of the three girls. "Wow," she said when Duane Swaniec of TurtleShack.com told her the turtles would be delivered the next day.

Among the items sent by TurtleShack.com to the Helms and Neytiri were treats, food, books, water treatments, heaters, filters, lamps, bulbs and many other items for the turtle and its habitat all from leading manufacturers in the industry.

"We decided to send the Helms some stuff from Turtleshack.com that would help them and little Neytiri forget about their ordeal," says Swaniec. "We're sending the Helm's a care package to ensure Neytiri stays healthy and happy."

Since the incident, PETA has gotten involved and the Helms have been bombarded by the media, which even included an appearance on the Today Show.

"We just hope the stuff we sent from Turtleshack.com helps them put the whole incident behind them so they can move on," says Swaniec. "Maybe AirTran will change their policy so little animals like Neytiri can travel with their families."

For more than 25 years, TurtleShack.com, has been breeding, raising and working with more than one-hundred turtle and tortoise species. People all over the United States adopt thousands of turtles from TurtleShack.com each year. For more information, visit http://www.Turtleshack.com, or find Turtleshack.com on Facebook. Contact TurtleShack.com at [email protected] or by phone at 800-517-1809.

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