Turtle for a Day

The other day John and his sister almost ran over a turtle that was so happily walking across our driveway. They just thought it was a large pinecone, until they saw it's cute little legs moving. John brought it inside and the boys instantly got attached to it. He made sure though that they knew it most likely had an owner. You never see wild turtles here in Utah county. We decided to feed it some chopped up veggies and he ate them right away so we knew it was a pet. He also stuck his head out for the boys to pet which is rare for a wild turtle. There were no postings about a lost turtle, so I sent the boys around to the neighbors to ask if it was theirs and to the boy's great relief, it wasn't any of our neighbors. During the day, Enoch was very nervous at every phone call. He didn't want to admit that he wanted to keep the cute little thing. I don't know anything about the care of turtles, so I googled it and researched for an hour or so. Come to find out he is not a turtle, but a tortoise. The difference is mainly their feet. Turtles feet are webbed and most of them swim. This guys feet are like little elephants and they don't swim. I found out it was an African something or other tortoise. They grow to be around 100 pounds and kids can ride on them. They live over 100 years if properly cared for. I read all about how to care for them and John (not so willingly) made a little habitat for it in a plasic box. The boys were so excited to have a new pet, but John and I were hoping someone would come along and claim him. Come to find out, the next day my friend was posting "lost turtle" signs around the neighborhood. She lives at the top of our street. We are talking like six houses up. How the turtle got clear down to our house I don't know, but we are glad that it belongs to her since she is a good friend and she told the boys they can come and visit "Happy" whenever they want. It is a GIRL tortoise as well, but I was right on the kind of tortoise it is. She got it from her Aunt who's daughter dropped it out of a two story window. She was very happy that we took care of it for a day or so and that she was still alive. My boys get sad when they look at that empty box, but I smile inside knowing that I don't have to be the one to take care of it!