MAX AND THE LADY – PART 1

I have written a few times about my late best friend, my Pitbull Lady.

I believe I have mentioned my little buddy Max, too. Max was a desert turtle whose name alternated between Max Power and Maximillion Shell (a play on the actor).

I had both of them at the same time. In fact I got Max from the same co-worker who gave me Lady as a puppy. I took them both home within weeks of each other.

For a brief time I had Max in a typical turtle glass enclosure, but I didn’t feel right about it. Eventually I let Max loose in the back yard, and that is where he lived for 9 years. I gave him water and food every day, and he had the full run of a very large back yard.

Max’s favorite food? Hamburger believe it or not. Ground hamburger. He loved it.

This is a True Story I call Max and the Lady Part 1.

He loved Hamburger. So did Lady.

Around the time of this tale Lady was around ten weeks old. A puppy, but still much larger than Max. Lady would sniff him out and check him out at times, but generally left him alone. Then one day, this happened . . .

I found Max in the back yard and brought him up onto the patio to feed him. I put him down gently and laid a nice sized piece of hamburger in front of him. He took a few seconds to look around, extended his neck out, than chomped down on dinner.

Lady trotted over, sniffed Max, then the hamburger. Lady nudge the hamburger with her nose and . . .

MAX SNAPPED AT HER!

Yes, the tiny turtle snapped at the Pitbull trying to take his dinner. He barely missed taking a chunk out her poor nose.

Lady let out a piercing shriek and ran behind a patio chair and hid. SERIOUSLY!

For a long time after that poor Lady was afraid of Max and wouldn’t go near him.

An attempt to ‘make things better’ backfired the day I held Max up, and let Lady sniff him from behind. I had hoped if she would come up this close, then she wouldn’t be afraid of him any more . . .

But then he peed on her.

Ace.