So Long, Sweet Splash

I'm so sad to share that my sweet little Splasher Dasher passed away this evening. I've had her more than eight years. She's been with me the longest of my little family. Before Selah, before Adrian, before Ben....there was Splash.

As I looked for photos of her, it allowed me to reflect on what a full life she's had - especially for a turtle!

Spring of my junior year, my friend Jason took me canoeing during a fraternity party called Splash. While we floated the river, I decided I wanted a turtle and I grabbed a baby one off a log - enter Splash. I knew nothing of caring for a turtle, figuring out what sex it was or even what breed. That day began a new adventure for me - turtle husbandry.

She lived in my dorm room closet for a year and a half - successfully, hiding from the RAs during room checks and surviving in a rubbermaid tub. After graduation, she got a (boy)friend and a lovely real tank. She was living the high life.

Things got busy though, moves happened, and Splash went with me through it all. From Jackson, TN to Maryville; from Wake Forest, NC to Denver. She always went with me in her trusty bucket. She was quite the escape artist. Some days I'd come home from work to find her having launched herself from her tank to the floor to play with the dog. On the move to Denver, she climbed out of the trusty bucket and up the screened-in porch of my aunt's house. Later that same day, she again escaped from the bucket and waited for us underneath the car that would take her to Denver.

She set up shop in Denver in the living room where she could watch the snow fall on the train tracks. When we bought a house, she and Scooter got a room of their own, full of sunshine. Out of the two turtles, Splash (who was wild-caught) never could catch a minnow to eat, but always chased them as if to make friends. Make friends she did. She has always been willing to stick her neck out and greet people, to eat from our fingers and to live in our dining room so I could nurse her to health.

A few months back, she had a bacterial infection that required me to give her oral medication twice daily. Although she didn't love it, she's the only turtle I know of who would let me open her mouth. I thought she was back to herself months ago after the vet gave her a clean bill of health, so when Adrian came home tonight to find her gone, it was unexpevted. No excited swimming, no nibbling from our hand.

Splash was full of personality. She was a turtle yes, a pet, but a family member. We both are seriously going to miss her, but I'm so thankful I had her with me for the last 8 years. I'm glad I grabbed her off that log, glad I didn't let her go into the wild like people suggested, glad she was my turty friend.

Splashy, you will be so missed.