Photo: WBZ NewsRadio \ Suzanne Sausville
SUDBURY, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — One Sudbury man is speaking out and asking for the safe return of his beloved hippo.
A 200-pound wooden hippopotamus was stolen from Ricardo Lewitus' front lawn in Sudbury. The hippo was among several animal figures on lawn alongside an elephant, donkey, and peacock.
"When I went to the police station I asked them please don't laugh, I am reporting a lost hippopotamus," Lewitus, a retired pediatrician, told WBZ's Suzanne Sausville.
He originally purchased the custom-made hippo from a wood carver in the Berkshires after he fell in love with the animals on a trip to South Africa. The hippo lived peacefully on his lawn since until it was taken.
"The kids have climbed on it, the neighborhood loves it, everybody looks at it, it's just for fun nothing else," Lewitus said.
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He believes kids may behind the hippo-napping.
Photo: WBZ NewsRadio \ Suzanne Sausville
"It was disbelief more than anything else that somebody would take the hippo," he said.
Lewitus said he doesn't want to press charges, he is just focused on getting the hippo back. He says the wooden figure means a lot to him and his wife.
"If somebody's listening and knows about the hippo, help the hippo to return to its own house," he said.
Lewitus has already been in contact with the original wood carver about making him a new heavier hippo if his is not returned.
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