Overnight Pets

My kids think I hate pets. And they are always surprised to hear that my brother and I had a cat and a dog when we were kids in NYC. We loved them to pieces and I have tons of fond memories dressing them up or going on car trips. My cat, Sunday, always screamed bloody murder when we went through the Lincoln Tunnel. EVERY TIME! Our dark Barky was an totally awesome. Like the sister I never had. I grew up with Barky and Sunday and they both lived until I was in college.

That’s Barky and me dancing together circa 1983

My husband grew up around here, in South Jersey near the Pine Barrens. He never had a cat or a dog, but he’s told me stories about having overnight pets. Correction: As hubby reads over my shoulder, he says he had a dog. Whatever, I told him to get his own blog. What the heck’s an overnight pet, you ask? He says he’d find some poor unsuspecting nice little animal in the woods and bring it home. His parents would let him keep it in his room for the night and he’d have to let it go in the morning. Apparently he did this all the time. Hmmm.

I have a strict NO PET POLICY in my house. Yeah, I can barely handle having the 4 humans I already have (that’s 3 kids + hubby) and have no time to spare for a dog. I know, I know, a lot of you do it. Not me. Can’t handle it. Our kids get plenty of wildlife, don’t you worry. Our yard is a haven for birds, toads and even lizards. Lately we’ve had two bunnies hanging around a lot. I won’t count the snake that got all tangled in the mesh I had over my strawberries. Eeeeew!

We finally had our first overnight pet… I sent hubby to Home Depot and on his way back he saw this little box turtle crossing the road. So of course he brought it home! I was totally down with keeping him overnight provided he stayed on the screened porch. The kids were psyched!

Mr. Turtle, as my brilliant children named him, was super shy at first. He would hide in his shell or under the couch. My girls made him a little home and gave him some food. Then we left him alone for a while to get acquainted.

*Disclaimer: I know it is illegal to catch a turtle in NJ and keep it as a pet. There are rumors that you can’t even own a turtle in NJ, but I did a little research on that and you can own a turtle if you get a permit. I’m pretty sure it is illegal to sell turtles in NJ and to release some species into the wild. Yikes, that’s a lot to sort out. I found an interesting article about Red-eared Slider Turtles here.

More pics… Our shy Mr. Turtle turned into a wild man in no time! I asked hubby if I should keep the back door closed so he couldn’t get inside. ‘He won’t come inside, don’t worry about it.’ Ha! Twice that sucker slipped inside. Once he made it past me, down two stairs and over to the kids’ toys without anyone noticing. Too funny!

When it was time to let Mr. Turtle go, the kids were NOT happy!

Trying to block Mr. Turtle from the bushes

But they’re over it now.

Have you ever had an overnight pet? Would you give it a try? Hubby says he kept snakes, water turtles, salamander, and once a baby squirrel until his mom freaked out on him. 🙂