A few months afterwards, I again broke the rules by interfering. This time, it was a land turtle. The size of a dinner plate, he had a snaky head with a yellow throat, and was dappled on the underside with splashes of orange, red and yellow.
Apparently, the poor thing had been struck by a car. I found him more dead than alive by the side of the street. His right hind leg was missing. A three legged turtle can hardly survive any better than a one-winged bird, so I took him in. I had to give him the special treatment.
Slowly I nursed ‘Chester’, as I called him, back to health. In summer he stays in a little square of land I fenced in for him with chicken coop wire. He has a miniature wading pool, a few smooth rocks to sun himself on, and an ample supply of food, both natural and that which is provided by me.
During the cold weather, Chester lives indoors in an aquarium where he happily munches on lettuce, bits of hamburger, and the occasional dab of bacon.
Later on, I similarly acquired a few other distressed creatures such as a three legged cat with no tail, and a blind dog.