So Long, Spot the Turtle

This weekend my house said goodbye to an old friend, Spot the Turtle. Spot is preceded in death by his friends: Hyden the Dog, Doodles the Cat, Patches the Cat, Scooter the Guinea Pig and Prince the Finch.

If there’s one thing we can say about Spot, it’s that he lived life in the slow lane. He enjoyed nothing more than basking in the warm glow of the 40 watt bulb while taking a dip in his bowl of water.

Spot lived a simple life. He’d burrow under inches of litter, only to come to the surface when the smell of Velveeta Shells n’ Cheese enticed him. With a grin on his little turtle face, he’d impale the shells n’ cheese with his claws and slowly bring it up to his mouth to enjoy. If you listened closely, you could hear him chomping on his dinner.

Perhaps the most action packed time for Spot came young in his life. According to his friend and owner Ron, this is what happened:

"I can remember one time he was in one of the boys’ bedroom with the door shut .. to kinda get a little exercise .. well one of the boys ran into his room and forgot to close the door.  Well .. next thing I know .. I am looking up at the top of the stairs and there’s Spot teetering like a car that’s about ready to go over the cliff .. well before I could do anything .. down the stairs he came like a hubcap .. I should say rolling down the stairs.   .. Spot tucked in his shell .. and BOOM … he hit the wall at the bottom of the stairs .. what a ride!"

Spot’s favorite book was Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss and his favorite cartoon was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If Spot could leave one piece of advice for the future generations, it would be to always be comfortable in your own shell.