We had a friend live with us for a while.
His time with us was short, but we enjoyed every minute of it.
This is the story of our turtle, Fluffy...
Taylor Rose and I were on our way home after dropping Christian off at school. I saw a turtle walking down the road, seemingly looking for a break in the curb so that he could get back up to the grass and nearby pond. I turned around and hoped that nobody had run over him before I got to him. I came up on the turtle, who was unharmed, and picked him up. I was going to walk him over to the lake, but I thought Christian would really like to see. So, I decided to keep him until after school. I put him in the kids wagon in the garage for the afternoon.
Once CK saw him, he was in LOVE. He carried that turtle around with him all day. CK took him to meet his friends, he let him check out the trampoline, he sent him down the slide (only once), he showed him the house, and made him a pool in the backyard (complete with logs for sunning).
He also named him Fluffy.
So, I told the kids we would take him back to his home the next day.
In true turtle speed, he was very slow to leave.
Before I knew it, we had been a turtle family for a week. Fluffy was living on boiled eggs and canned clams. I explained that he was wild and needed to be with his friends. So, I came up with a compromise. We would go talk to the people at Petco and see what they said. The guy told us that we had a Red Eared Slider Turtle, which are native to Texas. He guessed that, by the size of our turtle, he was around five years old. He said they're shy and usually spend most of their time in their shell if they're handled.
Apparently, Fluffy didn't get that memo. He LOVED to have the kids scratch him on his nose. He would crawl around on our laps. Fluffy was a friendly fella.
We bought him some turtle food.
The day that turned into a week had turned into three weeks.
Turtles hybernate. It was getting cold. I was getting worried.
I carefully, but with a matter-of-fact attitude, explained that Fluffy needed to go back home. Christian seemed to agree.
So, we set out to release him that day.
Tay, CK, and I walked him over to the pond.
CK set him down and... I am NOT joking... that turtle turned around, walked back up to CK, and climbed on his lap!
NO JOKE! It was like watching one of those movies where the boy is telling the dog "Go! Just go! I don't want you!", the dog looks at the boy in hurt and confusion, and the audience is bawling their eyes out.
Christian tried it again. The rest of the story is on video:
It was heartbreaking for my little softhearted boy.
His time with us was short, but we enjoyed every minute of it.
This is the story of our turtle, Fluffy...
Taylor Rose and I were on our way home after dropping Christian off at school. I saw a turtle walking down the road, seemingly looking for a break in the curb so that he could get back up to the grass and nearby pond. I turned around and hoped that nobody had run over him before I got to him. I came up on the turtle, who was unharmed, and picked him up. I was going to walk him over to the lake, but I thought Christian would really like to see. So, I decided to keep him until after school. I put him in the kids wagon in the garage for the afternoon.
Once CK saw him, he was in LOVE. He carried that turtle around with him all day. CK took him to meet his friends, he let him check out the trampoline, he sent him down the slide (only once), he showed him the house, and made him a pool in the backyard (complete with logs for sunning).
He also named him Fluffy.
So, I told the kids we would take him back to his home the next day.
In true turtle speed, he was very slow to leave.
Before I knew it, we had been a turtle family for a week. Fluffy was living on boiled eggs and canned clams. I explained that he was wild and needed to be with his friends. So, I came up with a compromise. We would go talk to the people at Petco and see what they said. The guy told us that we had a Red Eared Slider Turtle, which are native to Texas. He guessed that, by the size of our turtle, he was around five years old. He said they're shy and usually spend most of their time in their shell if they're handled.
Apparently, Fluffy didn't get that memo. He LOVED to have the kids scratch him on his nose. He would crawl around on our laps. Fluffy was a friendly fella.
We bought him some turtle food.
The day that turned into a week had turned into three weeks.
Turtles hybernate. It was getting cold. I was getting worried.
I carefully, but with a matter-of-fact attitude, explained that Fluffy needed to go back home. Christian seemed to agree.
So, we set out to release him that day.
Tay, CK, and I walked him over to the pond.
CK set him down and... I am NOT joking... that turtle turned around, walked back up to CK, and climbed on his lap!
NO JOKE! It was like watching one of those movies where the boy is telling the dog "Go! Just go! I don't want you!", the dog looks at the boy in hurt and confusion, and the audience is bawling their eyes out.
Christian tried it again. The rest of the story is on video:
