Wilford the Turtle - Pet turtle of Opie Taylor (Ron Howard) on the sitcom THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW/CBS/1960-68. On the pilot episode of the series shown on 2/15/60 as part of THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW, Opie's pet turtle Wilford was stepped on and killed by an unsuspecting Mayberry citizen called Mrs. Balford while she was walking in front of the ice cream parlor. Angry at the demise of his little reptile critter, Opie went straight to his father, Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) and pleaded with him to arrest the woman, put her on trial for murder and then "hang her." Trying to soothe his son, Andy used the death of his wife and Opie's mother to try and reason with him. Perplexed, Opie looks at his dad and asks "Who stepped on Ma?"