DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE (Little Rock, Arkansas) 30 January 08 Tortoise Dzalak’s lifetime pet (Lynn Atkins)

When Ed Dzalak was 6 years old and living in Arizona, a desert tortoise wandered into his yard. That began a friendship that has spanned 77 years and dozens of homes in three states. Mike the tortoise and Dzalak are still playing in the yard together.

At first the tortoise just hung around in the yard, but when Dzalak's family moved to California, they took the reptile with them. His father named it Mike, Dzalak said, although at the time they had no idea if their new pet was a Mike or a Mary. Years later, Dzalak found information on the Internet that convinced him Mike is the correct name.

In California, the family had a large, fenced yard, but at certain times of the year Mike would make an escape. Dzalak believes Mike was responding to an instinct to mate. One time a neighbor at the top of the hill called the family to retrieve their turtle.

His father used to take Mike for rides in the family car.

"Whether the turtle liked it or not, I have no idea," Dzalak confessed.

Then Dzalak went off to fight in World War II. Mike stayed home in California. Dzalak was gone for three years. When he got home, he dropped his sea bag in the yard to embrace his father. Mike came running from the other side of the yard with his head extended for petting. After three years, his pet tortoise recognized him, Dzalak said.

"There aren't too many places to pet a turtle," Dzalak said. When Mike spots someone he knows, he's will extend his head to expose the soft spot on his neck where he likes to be rubbed, Dzalak said. But when strangers are around, he'll "close up."

"He's got more smarts than he appears to have," Dzalak said.

Mike will still come when he's called, although Dzalak isn't sure if it's the sound of his name or just a familiar voice that brings the turtle.

"He can hear," Dzalak said," but I can't find ears. I've been looking for years. "Mike can also make grunting noises, even though experts would say that tortoises can't make a noise.

Mike knows his food comes from his humans and he found the one spot in the yard where he can see into the kitchen. When he's hungry, he makes his way to that vantage point and watches Dzalak and his wife until they bring him some lettuce.

He's a picky eater, Dzalak said. He won't eat wheat bread or many kinds of vegetables. He used to eat only bread from Harris bakery, but in recent years he switched to Wonder Bread. He also forages for some of his own food.

Most people don't like dandelions in their lawn, but Dzalak encourages weeds of all kinds for his tortoise. Sometimes he picks a bouquet of dandelions and leaves it out for Mike.

Mike lives in the backyard all summer, where he has a choice of two houses. There's a winter house with a hinged roof and an old dog house that Mike prefers in the summer months. During the coldest weather tortoises hibernate and for that Mike moves to the garage. Dzalak tried to let him hibernate inside the house one year, but the heat confused him and he woke up too early. In the garage he has a bed of newspapers in a basket.

Old friends know it's spring when they see Mike crawl out from his newspaper bed, Dzalak said.

One year, Dzalak thought he'd lost Mike when hibernation season came and Mike disappeared under the deck. There was no way to get him out that wouldn't destroy the deck so Dzalak made the sad decision to let his old friend go. The next spring, Mike crawled out after spending the winter in a hole - he was fine.

When the Dzalaks lived by the lake they came across a small box turtle, so they tried to introduce it to Mike. Mike wanted no part of the stranger, Dzalak reported. He moved his head up and down aggressively, while the box turtle just closed up. They let the native turtle go.

The family has had better luck introducing dogs, although Mike used to love teasing their Great Dane. The tortoise would wait until the dog was asleep, then he would quietly come up and bite the large dog on the foot. One day, Dzalak's family saw the Great Dane digging in the yard. When they went to investigate they found Mike at the bottom of the hole about to be buried alive.

Dzalak isn't sure what the typical life span of a desert tortoise is, but he's heard of them living up to 200 years in captivity. He has no way of knowing Mike's age. Dzalak said Mike's about the same size he was when found, but he noted that "He seems to be heavier now but I was much smaller then," Dzalak said.

He's already made plans for Mike to move in with his son if that becomes necessary.

"My son played with Mike as a child, my daughters played with Mike, my grandchildren played with Mike. I have a great-granddaughter who petted Mike."

For the Dzalaks, Mike is more than a pet. He's a family tradition.
Tortoise Dzalak’s lifetime pet

[ Show Entire Thread ]