Friday, June 13, 2008

Goodbye little ones

Just late this evening, my girls and I had to say goodbye to our little pet tortoise, releasing them to the nature where they belong. I still remember vividly the day i bought them (it was a pair) three years ago. It was a Saturday, I was dressed in my green maternity top and a white pants, was pregnant with Alyana at that time. Love at first sight (hehehehe...) and couldn't resist the temptation to have them in my house simply because i knew Aleesya would love having such little moving creatures to play with. Back then they were 50sen coin in size, really tiny. I guess, given the love and attention, plus the smelly green pallets, they have grown big and healthy (do they naturally ever get sick? dunno!). Today they could easily hide my palm.

There was this one day, i think a few weeks after having them at home, i left my condo unit at around morning and came home at about 8pm. Before leaving, we would always wave goodbye and that was my routine check if they were still safe and intact in that small oval glass container i put them in. Funny though that i walked in that night, not noticing anything unusual about the tortoise. So, took my bath and got dressed and...OH MY GOD - THERE IT WAS CRAWLING OUT OF MY ROOM!!!! How on earth did it get there? And since when? Morning when i left the house? OMG, it survived the whole 10 hours without water, wandering around my unit, spot checking? Hehehe...i had the shock of my life. I figured out that it crawled out of its 'sanctuary', fell onto the floor and decided to kill time wandering around, looking for food in the kitchen maybe. The better half however stayed on...good girl....

So, the past three years of keeping them wasn't that much of a trouble. The only torture i had was the changing of water every two weeks especially after accommodating them in a bigger 'unit' i.e. a big sized aquarium (well, we moved into a double-storey unit, bigger too). And to do JUST that, i had my two-week-maintenance routine turned into a monthly routine over the years. I have to admit, it was painfully dreadful to clean and maintain the aquarium especially as i was the only one responsible for it.

So, after three years of deteriorating love, care and attention (so terrible of me!), my hubby decided to scream on behalf of these unfortunate creatures - 'TOLONG, LEPASKAN KAMI, LEPASKAN KAMI. KAMI TERSEKSA' was what i had to surrender to. Who wouldn't if this is the painful cry which i had to withstand for two consecutive weeks, on daily basis! Plus, i don't want to be held responsible for any dengue cases in my vicinity. So, it was time. Back to the nature, little ones. So, i 'packed' them up and we bid farewell. Looking for a new home was not a task at all. There's this beautiful lake just a minute away from my house and that's where their new home is now. What saddened me was the idea of them having to split up, now surviving as an individual after so long being together. It must be lonely for them....

We'll miss u.....but please don't swim and crawl back to the house ok, i know it's just a stone's throw away! Just don't....


The pair...one is bigger than the other.


Saying goodbye...farewell. Their new home...beautiful and 'spacious'



2 comments:

Lee said...

Hi Shera, very interesting read of your pets. Thats very nice of you letting them go.
I think there's two other lady bloggers I read keeping totoises, ada nama pun, ha ha.
I like that lake. Can go fishing there?
You have a good weekend, best regards, Lee.

Shera said...

Hi Lee,
It was a big relief actually letting them go, knowing that i cant provide better care for them. i wasn't even sure if they could swim in the lake,hehehe, having kept them in the aquarium all these years. but the moment i saw them swimming freely in the lake, i knew it was the right thing to do. Yes, the lake was a nature's beauty. facing my house. i sometimes see people driving in to fish. interested? i can give u the exact location then.