People are getting more creative than ever when it comes to their pets. It may be unusual for a couple to have a pet tortoise, but Kasey Kuchinski and Daniel Rodriguez disagree. The two have been the proud human parents of their little buddy, Ethel, since 2016.
Ethel, better known as Ethel the Glamour Tortoise, has made a name for herself online. See, Kasey makes Ethel custom-made outfits. Not only is a dressed-up tortoise about the cutest thing in the world, but her outfits match her humans' outfits, too. Kasey spends less than $5 on each of Ethel's awesome outfits.
What started as a fun inside joke has won the hearts of many. With over 56,000 followers, audiences are obsessed with the tortoise and her unique style. Her looks have made for some adorable family pictures with Kasey and Daniel. People have been dressing up their dogs and cats for a long time, but Ethel is on the forefront of tortoise fashion.
A California couple has found endless joy in their pet tortoise. Kasey Kuchinski, 33, and Daniel Rodriguez, 33, adopted their sulcata tortoise, Ethel, in 2016. Since then, they've grown to see Ethel as their child.
Ethel is now 4 years old and weighs 20 pounds. Her favorite hobby? Playing dress-up with her humans, of course! Kasey explains that she first got the idea to start dressing Ethel up from Instagram.
"I was seeing a trend on Instagram where families with children would take photos wearing matching outfits," Kasey noted.
"I just thought it would be funny to do the same but with our tortoise — it's sort of an inside joke, I guess."
Kasey has a background in fashion design, so this gave her the opportunity to bring together two of her favorite things. She gets started by picking matching outfits for herself and Daniel. Then she looks for something for Ethel.
"It's really no different than putting a jacket on a dog or any other pet animals, or shoes on a baby. No, it is certainly not necessary but dang, is it funny and cute!" Kasey told Bored Panda.
"Ethel doesn't mind it at all."
Ethel isn't in the outfits for long.
"We only have her in the outfit for the photos so all in all, about 10 minutes every two weeks!" Kasey noted. "If you look through our feed, you'll see she's naked 99% of the time."
Kasey said she's long dreamed of having a tortoise as a pet.
"I can probably pin the idea down to reading the 'Reptile Room' from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," she said.
"You really couldn't know just how much this adorable animal can capture your heart until you've spent a lot of time with one! Ethel is a particularly great example of her species, I think so. She's easy to love!"
Kasey and Daniel both work full-time, so they work on outfits for Ethel in their downtime.
"I usually have about 3-4 ideas stored up and I just wait for the right moment for each one. So next week, the idea is a picnic," she offered as an example.
"That's all I've got so far. Now, before next Friday, I've got to decide on a color concept… I'm thinking gingham, probably blue?"
"Then hopefully, I'll find something for Daniel and me to wear (this is always the hardest part)."
"Once I find at least two matching items, I'll get a third for Ethel, either the same shirt as Daniel or the same thing as me," she continued.
"Then, basically I alter that garment to fit Ethel, sometimes it works better than others, sometimes if necessary I'll just start with matching fabric for Ethel and [make] her DIY clothes!"
To get the pictures perfect, Kasey sets up a yummy treat for Ethel.
"It just sits inside a roll of duct tape on the ground, then I use a remote clicker (that you can totally see in a lot of the photos, I'm not very stealthy!). We have about 5 minutes before Ethel loses interest in the whole deal and wants to go explore!"
Sometimes, when the shoots are over, the three go out for a stroll in their area. People get a kick out of seeing the three of them in their cute coordinated outfits.
"It's hilarious and so ridiculous!"
The couple is so grateful to have Ethel, especially since they nearly lost her. In 2018, she escaped from the home and went missing.
"People keep telling me. 'Oh she's a tortoise how far can she go?' They're built to walk miles in a day. They can walk really far looking for food," Kasey told CBS13 at the time.
Thankfully, after 27 days missing, Ethel was found. She was stuck in a fence in their neighborhood. Someone called a tortoise rescue that had heard Ethel's story and got in contact with Kasey and Daniel.
When she's not dressing up, Ethel has a lot of hobbies. She enjoys days at the beach, grazing on plants, and taking a dip when it's hot out. It's clear that Ethel is living her absolute best life, and we should all aspire to it.
