I Am My Turtle’s Slave

I’ve posted about Shelvin, my pet Eastern Painted Turtle and friend for 34 years (yes, I’ve had him since I was 6), but I don’t think that I’ve ever gotten into our disturbing dynamic. I thought that I was training him, but no, he was training me.

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Shelvin with a suncatcher covering him in a rainbow. The thing that looks like French Toast is his floating island.

34 is a venerable age in captivity for his species (they usually live to 25), but except for a short bout of shell rot 5 years ago,...