Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Squirt, The Turtle

Squirt was a Red Ear Slider Turtle that The Hubs and I got our Sophomore year of college. When we got her she was only about an inch and a half long and a inch wide. We got her a nice fish bowl to live in and placed her on the desk next to the window so she could Tan everyday. I'm calling her a girl but it wasn't until about a year and a half ago that our 'he' was a 'she'. She laid two eggs, and all these years we thought she was a he.
Over the years she went through multiple tanks because she wouldn't stop growing, this was partly our fault the more room they have the more they grow. Her most resent tank could hold about 25 gallons of water.  She went from our tiny turtle, hence the name Squirt, to about 9 inches long and 5 to 6 inches wide. She would eat the tiny goldfish from the pet store and pretty much anything else you dropped in there.  She loved to chase down the fish in her tank and would begin to try and climb out as soon as she saw the bag of her 25 fish feast. Kalen loved to go on the porch and watch her swim around or sun bathe.  He would also get a good laugh watching her.  She wasn't your typical pet, you couldn't pet her, cuddle her, or give her kisses.  You could just watch her, every now and then she would get to run around outside or on the porch while The Hubs cleaned her tank.
On Sunday we got her, her usual 25 fish + 5 extra and went out to feed her and noticed she wasn't sun bathing or swimming around, she just laid at the bottom of her tank.
This is the first pet loss as a family, besides a few fish we had over the years.  So we found a nice spot on the side of the house and laid her to rest.  We all went outside to give her a proper funeral and said some nice words for Squirt.  I know neither of the boys will remember her except when we tell them we use to have this massive turtle.  Even though she was just a turtle that lived on the porch in her massive tank, she was still part of our family.  So it was a sad day for The Hubs and I.

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