Mrs. Grumpee

Grant and I have adopted another turtle. Our turtle count is now to 4 turtles. Yoda, our biggest turtle, is our favorite turtle and we have had him the longest. He's been with Grant since he was 13 yrs. old I believe. Then we have Critter and Curmbox who live together in an aquarium they come next in our favorite line, they are the smallest of the turtles. They came to be in our family after Grant and I returned from Austria, and our turtle sitter for Yoda, was also watching Critter and Curmbox and the owner of the two little turtles didn't want them so we offered to take them. And now for Mrs. Grumpee; she received her name because of her attitude (but this is the first week we've had her so her name may change). Grant wanted to name her Grumpy, but I thought that the name sounded like a boys name so we went to Mrs. Grumpy, but Grant didn't want her name to necessarily describe her attitude so we named her Mrs. Grumpee. So her name is a name and not a label.

We came to know Mrs. Grumpee when I was doing my job. I'm a host family coordinator for some French foreign exchange students coming to California. I find the families and check out their homes to see if their homes have a welcoming environment for the French student. I was at a home doing a visit, and we started talking about pets, especially dogs. I told them I was allergic to dogs but still want a dog. I also shared with them, that I told my husband, before we add to our three turtles our next pet will be a dog. They then told me about their turtle they don't want and how it is in the garage right now in a bucket of water. The family called rescue shelters to have them take the turtle, but no rescue shelters returned their calls and they were stuck with the turtle. They felt bad for the turtle because they knew it wasn't in the best living style. So there I was, and I went back on my story and told them we would love to take another turtle, especially my husband would love it. After the visit I drove off with another host family and Mrs. Grumpee in the car with me.

When I got home I gave Grant a little father's day suprise/gift, and presented him with the turtle. He was happy that she was in a home that loves turtles. She is a little sick so we bought some turtle medicine to put in her water, and she seems to be doing really well now. We called her Mrs. Grumpee because when you hold her she claws at you and tries to bite you. When you walk by her she tucks her head so far in and holds her mouth open, but already she is transitioning and warming up to our home and the love we have for turtles. I never thought that I would be considered a part of a turtle family.