Turtle’s coming out of his shell

By Micaela Togher Turtle the rat terrier was making the most of his time out with owner Nicholas Irving at Boyd Park in March. At 11 years old, there has been one constant between Turtle and Nick over the time they have been together. “Definitely walks. He loves his walks. It’s our favourite thing to do each day,” Nick said. Nick and his partner welcomed a son 18 months ago, giving Turtle a new playmate. “Turtle enjoyed lockdown because of the new baby. The little one gets up every morning and loves to feed Turtle treats. He just loves it,” Nick said. But things were not always easy for Nick and his partner during the worst of the COVID-19 crisis. “The lockdown was tough with the baby. He was pretty premi and, it was scary,” Nick said. With the vaccine being rollout across the country, Nick is optimistic about life with Turtle returning to normal. “Turtle loves playing with our son. It’s great. And sitting on clothes – any time I take off a jumper or anything goes on the floor, Turtle sits on it!” •