What would you do if you spotted a poorly-looking tortoise standing very, very still beneath a plant in your back garden?
Faced with this exact situation, shocked pensioner Margaret Parker, from Carlisle, went outside for a closer look - then called her daughter Lorraine Boyes for a second opinion, reports Caters News Agency.
When the tortoise continued to remain stationary, the concerned pair concluded it was probably unwell, so Margaret rushed off to the shops to buy it some lettuce and tomatoes. They then placed the patient in a box and called in the experts at Knoxwood Wildlife Rescue Trust.
By this point, the tortoise's failure to move had led Margaret and Lorraine to fear the worst: could it actually be dead?
It was only when animal rescue volunteer Pauline Adams arrived that the truth emerged. The tortoise wasn't ill or dead: it was ceramic. See the photo above.
Red-faced Margaret told Metro: 'It was about the same weight as a real tortoise, but when she picked it up and looked underneath, there was writing on the bottom saying: "Made in China".'
Ah well, at least they showed they cared. Better safe than sorry, eh?
Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to dash: there's a little man with a fishing rod sitting on a toadstool in our garden, and it looks like he could do with some urgent medical attention...