Doug Huntman nestled his box turtle back into her giant plastic tote after a trip to get her nails and beak trimmed. He grinned down at her.
“Pokey, all nice and fresh!” he said, chuckling.
Huntman jokes about everything, but especially Pokey, the pet he’s had for 43 years. Like her time at the vet’s office, where she spent her afternoon — it’s the “turtle spa.” She had to stay for a little longer than expected to deal with an overgrown beak. That left Huntman home without her for most of the afternoon. It felt strange not to have her around, Huntman said.
“I got the turtle when I was 12, and obviously I have a lot of gray hair on my face now,” he said. “I’m 55, so that is a long time to have a pet.”…