HAMILTON SPECTATOR (Ontario) 23 August 05 Pokey's big adventure takes him on the road ( Nicole Macintyre)
Ancaster: It's not quite The Incredible Journey, but Pokey's odyssey, by turtle standards, was pretty impressive.
The red-eared slider turtle, 21 years old and little bigger than a dessert plate, went missing the beginning of June.
Pokey's Ancaster owners, the Boyles, looked high and low, warning their neighbours to keep an eye out for a turtle on the lam.
As the weeks passed they gave up hope of Pokey's return, conceding he likely couldn't have survived the hot days on his own. After all, this was a turtle who'd spent most of his life languishing inside an aquarium in the living room.
Pokey had grown up with the Boyle's three girls. There were originally two reptiles in the house, but Myrtle the turtle died in a unfortunate shell poking incident after only a couple years.
Pokey, though short on personality, had become a part of the household.
"He's a conversation piece," explained mother Lynn, who took over Pokey's care when her girls moved away to school.
It was one of the daughters who decided Pokey might enjoy a little fresh air outside in the man-made pond back on June 8. She only planned to leave the turtle for a few hours.
When it slipped her mind, she called home to remind her sister to bring Pokey back inside. She forgot too.
Pokey was nowhere to be found by the time the family got home that night.
With flashlights in hand, the family scoured the yard, peering into the surrounding bushes. The next morning Lynn's husband Patrick tore up the deck to see if Pokey was hiding below.
"This went on for days," said Lynn.
As time passed Lynn imagined Pokey had crawled to the farthest corner of the deck and died. A sad end for a turtle who'd lived two decades, she figured.
"What a terrible way to go."
Still when her husband emptied Pokey's aquarium, Lynn took it back and refilled it.
"I can't believe how upset we were," she said embarrassed, noting Pokey is just a turtle.
Then seven weeks later, the door bell rang. A little girl had discovered a turtle making its way across a neighbourhood driveway.
"I had goose bumps," said the Boyle's daughter Kelly, who knew immediately it had to be Pokey. "I mean how many turtles are roaming Ancaster streets?"
Sure enough, Pokey was alive and well. He'd survived the weather and a daring trek across Amberly Boulevard.
A miracle? No. But it's still remarkable Pokey survived his suburban adventure, said Carl Rothfels, natural lands steward at the Royal Botanical Gardens.
The gardens are home to dozens of pet turtles like Pokey that have been abandoned or lost.
"They actually survive here very well," he said, noting red-eared sliders are problematic because they compete and spread disease to native reptiles.
As an omnivore, Pokey wouldn't have been starving on his escape, but he certainly would have faced a few traffic hazards, noted Rothfels.
"It's amazing that he didn't get hit by a car."
Back home for several weeks now, Pokey spends most of his days flapping against his aquarium. Facing another 20 years or more behind glass, he almost seems to be planning another break, joked Lynn.
"He's tasted freedom."
Pokey's big adventure takes him on the road