"Be Free, Myrtle, Be Free"

We inherited Myrtle, our red-ear slider, from Daddy's friend Roy's son, Brodie. Landon, you fell in love with her when Brodie brought her over to our house about a year ago. She was about the size of a silver dollar. With much love, floating food sticks, and the occasional freeze-dried shrimp snack, Myrtle grew to be a turtle of about six inches (they can grow up to about 14!) Myrtle made the move with us, and JuJu cared for her diligently, cleaning her tank three times a week. Myrtle had to be lonely and was getting a little too large for her 15 gallon aquarium, so we decided she might want to go and live with her family now. You seemed okay with this idea, with the understanding that we would go and visit her at the duck pond. There are other red-ear sliders there, and we felt Myrtle was big enough and strong enough to "hold her own." So today, we loaded everyone up and headed to the duck pond on King's Highway to set Myrtle free. As we neared the water's edge, you said to her, "I'm gonna miss you Myrtle. I'm never going to forget you Myrtle." It was truly heartbreaking! I assured you Myrtle would never forget you either, and she was excited to see all her friends and family. She immediately gulped down some kind of bug in the water and swam a little way toward some logs in the water. I'm sure Myrtle will fit right in; she was a really great turtle!