I had just taken one of my cats outside to play when I saw something crawling across the very busy street next to my fenced yard. To my great surprise, it was this rather large turtle, far, far away from any natural turtle home! Unfortunately, just as I ran into the street to stop traffic, a van hit him going at least 40 mph & rolled him several times where he landed upside down. Fortunately, he pulled himself into his shell in time and survived with out any injuries and barely a scratch on his amazingly hard shell! After thoroughly checking him out for injuries & recovering from any shock, I released him into the Columbia River where he could live his life without cars & other hazards of the urban environment. He is now living happily amongst other turtles & free to live the life he was meant to live.
Please do not take animals from their natural habitats & try to make them pets. All too often they become too big or unwanted & end up being let loose in unsafe places.
Wenatchee, WA
