Tortoise walking is an actual job now

A woman in New York pays $10 an hour for tortoise walking

New Yorker Amanda Green found her Craigslist post going viral, after she placed an ad looking for someone to walk her tortoise.

Green, adopted the 17 year old tortoise two years ago, but working full time job as a copywriter meant that Amanda could only take the tortoise, whose name is Henry, for walks at the weekend. So she did what any sensible person would do... she hired a tortoise walker.

In her advert, Amanda outlined what you needed to apply, writing:

A little more info about Henry:

-He doesn't wear a leash and is surprisingly quick, so you'll need to keep an eye on him. -He weighs about 16 pounds, so you'll need to be able to lift him in and out of the stroller. Also, we live in a walk-up building. -Henry is surprisingly energetic and fearless. The biggest thing to watch out for is him eating trash or kids trying to feed him. -No poop scooping required!

The advert went on to explain that 'no previous tortoise experience was necessary', but the candidate would need good people skills, because apparently Henry had a tendency to draw a crowd, 'cos you know, he's a tortoise. Other than crowd control, the major job would be to stop Henry from eating anything that might make him ill.

Amalia McCallister was the lucky applicant who beat out hundreds of others to land the job of taking Henry to the park. Henry's owner, Amanda explained that she'd cinched the job because of her pet shop experience and 'friendly, open personality'.

The job pays $10 an hour, and Amalia only walks Henry a couple of times a week, so it's not exactly enough to retire on any time soon. Amalia works three other jobs, but walking Henry is apparently her favourite by far. Obviously.

Henry is also a bit of an Insta celebrity in his own right, with over 5,000 followers. You can follow him @thenotortoisebig

http://storify.com/RebeccaCNReid/meet-henry-the-tortoise