NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark – A real-life tale of the tortoise and the hare leads a North Little Rock neighborhood on a search for the 85-pound pet.

Chelsea Hattaway lost her 14-year-old tortoise about a week ago, eventually finding her on the side of Interstate 40.

“I was just hoping she hadn’t been hit by a car,” Hattaway said.

Hattaway says she spent the last week passing out flyers and knocking on doors trying to find her pet which escaped from Hattaway’s backyard Wednesday.

“I know that’s something you don’t expect to hear when there’s a knock on your door,” said Hattaway. “‘Hey, have you seen an 85 pound tortoise running around?”

Hattaway got her tortoise Potato for her daughter about 9 years ago.

In that time she says the tortoise never ran away until about a month ago.

“She had never escaped in the 9 years we had her but now this is her third escape,” Hattaway said.

That’s just in the last month.

“She has a new hobby,” Hattaway said.

From the looks of it, Potato would prefer a couch rather than life on the run, but this week at about half a mile an hour, she kept up with cars going 60mph.

She didn’t quite make it to the finish line but with a little more time and a nap from the hare, Potato could have waxed them all and crossed the checkered tape.

Hattaway said now that she has potato back, she’s going to secure all her gates to make sure Potato doesn’t get out again.