Heart of the City by Steenz for February 27, 2019

A koopa troopa. Lucky.

More her speed?

Turtle Power!

Oh, boy! A pet that won’t ever really acknowledge your existence and will spend its entire life looking for a way out of its tiny prison where it can’t walk more than three steps in any direction. And turtles live a very long time so she’ll be stuck with it for years and years.

Mom has given Heart the gift of salmonella.

That turtle’s life span is far longer than a dog’s.

Fresh water is easy. Leave the lid up.

I’m grateful there are people in the chat acknowledging that that turtle is likely to live a. very. long. time. IF they take care of it correctly. For starters they should take it out of that tiny travel container and put it in a proper aquarium. And they have to set it up correctly, since correct husbandry is crucial for a healthy reptile. Not to mention the specialized vet they’ll have to find. (what if it gets the gigantic kidney stones turtles are known to get?)

I hope that Mr. Mark Tatulll uses this opportunity to subvert Heart, Heart’s mom, and the general public by eventually revealing that reptiles (and other “pocket pets”) are NOT easier to take care of than a dog and cat but have their own specialized responsibilities and challenges when being taken care of. Also if Heart’s mom couldn’t get a dog due to apartment restrictions. she should have explained that to Heart and they could have explored the alternatives together eventually finding an option that Heart would at least be enthusiastic about taking care of. Hopefully they would have researched and prepared before hand.

Sorry this turned into a rant, I’m a vet tech student and nothing infuriates me more than seeing reptiles, fish, or rodents being portrayed as an “easy” alternative or worse “practice” for a cat and dog in both media and real life. It leads to a lot of problems.

Well, look at this way. You don’t have to go out in inclement weather to walk it.

Aww….he’s cute. She has to start small.

This is my pet?! What the shell?

Geez. Get the kid a rescue kitty!

Hey I had one of those as a kid too. I didn’t think you could get those anymore because of salmonella risks. ??

No pretend walks and pretend picking up pretend p**p?

At least she didn’t get a cat like Lio’s cat, Cybil. She’s a masterpiece of cattitude.

Should have gotten her a leopard gecko. Leopard geckos are easier to keep than turtles.

Great! Instead of a pet she gets stuck with Mitch McConnell!

Sweet. If it’s a girl, don’t name her “Venus”.