Thanks to a man who once was homeless himself, Tucker the turtle is going home to Kentucky on Saturday.

Greg Staffa of Farmington told the Animal Humane Society that he felt a connection to the plight of the Eastern box turtle, which was picked up in Kentucky by a Minnesota trucker concerned about an apparent crack in its shell. Tucker, as the turtle was named, turned out to be fine, but now was too far from its natural habitat to survive.

On Tuesday, the Humane Society put out the call for someone heading south and got dozens of responses.

Among them was Staffa, who did a 9,000-mile road trip in 2008 to raise awareness about homelessness, and is planning similar efforts.

He'll leave Saturday, and will deliver Tucker to the Broadbent Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvington, Ky., which will release the turtle in a more hospitable habitat.

KIM ODE