VERO BEACH — Caitlin Henderson’s poodle, French bulldog and border collie were playing in her back yard as usual when she came home from work Wednesday.

But their shelled, spiky-legged, wanna-be-pooch pal Reily was nowhere in sight.

Reily, a 30-pound, foot-and-a-half long rare African tortoise who’s been in the Henderson family for six years, was missing.

And since Reily’s not the most deft-of-foot creature — though not nearly as slow as the stereotype indicates — Henderson, 25, fears someone stole her prized pet.

“Reily steals the dogs’ food and hangs out with them like any other dog would,” Henderson said. “He means a lot to us. He’s one of our dogs, basically.”

Henderson last saw her 15-year-old African spur thigh tortoise during a 2 p.m. lunch break from work at a local animal hospital. When she got back from work at 6 p.m., the tortoise was gone, even though everything else about the yard appeared normal and untouched. (more…)