Grandma Jackie Leek has developed an incredible bond with a giant tortoise which she takes everywhere with her – including to the pub.
Jackie, 58, first bought the African sulcata tortoise she calls Mr. Miyagi for companionship while recovering from cancer 18 months ago.
Since then the pair have become inseparable and she has taken the 8-year-old turtle on holidays in her caravan and for regular walks on the beach.
He weighs about 42 pounds and is expected to be about 139 pounds when he grows up.
And because he could live to be 120, she’s even set up a trust fund to take care of him when she’s gone.
Despite his large size, Jackie takes him wherever he can and says people often “abandon their cars” to stop and ask for a photo of Mr. Miyagi.
She said: “I opened the door and he just followed me into the car and into the estate where we live.
“He’ll just follow me and we have a little walk.
“People will abandon their cars when they see us, they will stop and ask if it’s real and if they can touch it.
“I take him to the beach and where I take him is a bit calm.
“But I went there on a bank holiday Monday and before I knew it we were surrounded by people and everyone was having a photo shoot with him – it was crazy.
“People are always doing double turns, I once had eight cars all stopped on the road and they all got out of their vehicles.
“People also can’t believe how heavy he is.”
Jackie was diagnosed with myeloma, a type of blood cancer that develops in the bone marrow, and breast cancer about four years ago.
After undergoing radiotherapy, she would feel lonely, so she decided to go to the pet store, where she bought a tortoise named Thor.
Jackie often walked Thor in a pram, but he tragically died three years after she first bought him.
The mother of two then decided to save Mr. Miyagi, who was originally named Arthur Pendragon, but she “never” considered getting one as a pet before she got Thor.
Jackie, from Warrington, Cheshire, said: “I’ve never had an interest in reptiles or turtles – I’m scared of snakes.
“I never thought I would get a turtle.
“He helps me recharge, I have some dark days.
“I’m getting stronger after the diagnosis, but Mr. Miyagi is helping me.
“I couldn’t go back to work because of my immune system and I have to watch where I go and what I do, so it’s a massive part of my life.
He gives me a purpose and when I cry, he sits there and I talk to him.
Mr. Miyagi likes to eat romaine lettuce and dandelion greens, and sometimes has green beans, strawberries, and tomatoes as treats.
He also enjoys sitting in a children’s sandpit, which is filled with water, but has been known to “rearrange the furniture” when Jackie has left her home.
Jackie, a former nurse, said: “He goes into bed around 5pm and will sleep until 8am if I don’t get up and he hears me in the kitchen.
“Before I do anything, I grab a baby sandpit and he stands next to me while I fill him with hot water and my partner lifts him into the bath.
“He can be there anywhere from ten minutes to three hours and I just keep warming him up and he’ll drink in there because that’s what they do.
“He’ll let me know when he’s had enough and then he’ll go to the garden or climb into the dog bed.
“He’s soft and he’ll sit in my slippers.
“If we leave him alone at home, then you think we would have been robbed because he rearranges the furniture.”
Jackie says that strangely, Mr. Miyagi hates the color black and will “slam her black bucket around the house” in protest.
The grandmother-of-two said: “He doesn’t like the color black, I don’t know what it is exactly.
“My mop bucket is black and he’s going to bang it around the house.
“We have a Christmas tree in a garden, it’s in a black pot, and I don’t know how to move the tree around the garden.
“He’ll love the pot – he doesn’t like anything black.
“One time I put a black toolbox on the floor and the next minute I knew it, he was knocking it over.”
African sulcata tortoises often live to be 120 years old, but some are known to survive even longer.
Jackie has a trust fund set up for Mr. Miyagi, so whoever takes care of him after he dies will be able to handle him.
She said: “I’ve made plans when I’m not here, so my partner will keep it as long as he can.
“After that, I’m hoping my daughter will take it and I’ve left money because they’re not cheap and they have the best insurance and the best vets.”
“If my daughter can’t have it or thinks she doesn’t want it, then my partner has two sons so I hope they can even have it.
“If not, I’m sure there will be a home for it somewhere, but you just never know.”
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Image Source : nypost.com