Our Temporary Pet

Last night, my husband rescued a box turtle from the side of the road (on the white line, to be exact). We were all in the van and excited about our new friend. We took her home, kids named her "Boxy." We made a nice habitat for her. This morning we were gathering information about her. She seemed delighted that we fed her a strawberry! It was really interesting to see her eat up close and personal, too be able to watch her stretch her neck to eat her strawberry. The kids were thrilled to wake up this morning and remember they have a "temporary" pet. Later they found some empty laundry baskets and put them on their own backs to use as a turtle shell. So they could "play" turtle. They are really enjoying this time and learning about our turtle.
We learned that she has a great homing instinct and needs to go back where we found her. We took her back there across the street where she was headed. Sent her back out into the woods. Her home.
The kids were blessed with an educational experience and a temporary pet. So were Mom and Dad.