Bailey made a new friend!  Well, I don’t know if friend is the right word, but after several unsuccessful attempts at trying to eat the large box turtle that she found in the back yard Bailey came to a tense understanding with the creature.

Yes, I know that this is a turtle, not a tortoise…  He’s pretty cool looking, right?

Bailey discovered this box turtle in our back yard while she was patrolling for squirrels and groundhogs.  I could hear her yipping and barking from inside the house.  Bailey hardly ever barks so I knew something exciting must be going on and rushed outside with my camera.  Sure enough, she was straddling the turtle (who was safely closed up in his shell) and alternating between smelling and barking at him.  After hearing horror stories about snapping turtles biting peoples’ thumbs off I was a little worried when Bailey put her nose up against his shell but he didn’t seem too concerned.

I shooed Bailey away and spent several minutes watching the turtle in the yard until he eventually started to poke his head out.  His eyes were very intense and we stared at each other for a while.  This must have been a very amusing sight for our neighbors who probably couldn’t tell that there was a turtle on the ground in front of me – to them it must have just looked like I had taken a break mid-Zumba-workout and dashed outside in my hastily-donned Sperrys to help Bailey watch for squirrels!

All in all, it was pretty neat to see such an “exotic” animal in our yard.  He was very patient with me as I took his picture.  When I was done he stuck out his head, legs, and tail and marched off into the woods.  What a cool encounter!

Have you ever found a strange animal in your backyard that took you or your pet by surprise?  What was it?