Pet Life Magazine, New Zealand Pet Life Magazine Issue 5 Summer 2017 | Page 3

itor d E e h t m o Letter fr A few years ago, we were given a couple of turtles that needed a new home as their owner was going overseas. When they were pulled out their box, it was a bit of a “what the heck” moment! They looked nothing like our turtles that have been living outside in a pond for many years. The colour of their shells were dull and grey, not bright and green. The big girl, well she was incredibly round – and I mean upwards! They came with their food, some flimsy, dust-like dehydrated shrimps – hardly a satisfying meal for two fully-grown turtles. She pooped stones for months on end in our care, showing how hungry she had been. Today, both turtles are both nice and bright green, thanks to the sun on their shells. And she’s spread out sideways a bit, now having more room in the pond, looking less like a beach ball. This Pet Life issue’s Rescue Superstar is Christchurch’s turtle lady, Donna Moot. Because she lives on another island to me, we talked on the phone for well over an hour while she was running a hose through her house cleaning turtle tanks. Donna is one awesome lady, and I was well captivated by what she had to say. I mean, who on earth has 65 turtles? Crazy! But it wasn’t until I got off the phone and started trawling through her Turtle Rescue and Rehoming Facebook page photos that it really struck me what a good heart Donna has. She is more than awesome, but of course she wasn’t going to tell me that! I guess it’s true when they say a photo is worth a thousand words, and Donna’s photos really hit home how badly neglected turtles can become as pets, mostly as a consequence of ignorance. Some of the turtles on her page made my two rescues look positively healthy. I thought a round shell looked weird; well, Donna is caring for turtles with all sorts of bumps, twists and rotten bits to their shells. There’s a turtle that has been hit by a car, turtles with weird abscesses, turtles with shell rot, turtles that have been fed the wrong food, kept in too small tanks, haven’t had correct lighting, haven’t been able to get out of water … the list of neglect is endless. And Donna takes them all, and loves them all, and names them all, and fixes what she can. I challenge you to look through Donna’s Facebook photos and not feel anything. I’ve included Donna’s bank account details for donations. She doesn’t get much, and laughs that most of the time when she’s rehoming turtles the $20 fee is forgotten about in her strict setup process – but she deserves a helping hand! I hope you enjoy our latest issue. It’s our one-year anniversary and we’re pretty excited about that! inger THE TEAM MANAGING DIRECTOR Print & Distribution: & ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE Inkwise Amy Scott-Thomas [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS Jo Clough - Pet First Aid & Training EDITOR [email protected] Inger Vos Liza Schneider - Dr Liza Holistic Vet [email protected] [email protected] WRITER Morgan Healey [email protected] CREATIVE In house CONTACT DETAILS Red Swamp Road, RD1, Kaikoura www.petlife.co.nz facebook.com/PetLifeNZ instagram.com/PetLifeNZ DISCLAIMER Pet Life magazine is subject to copyright in its whole entirety. No part of the contents within are to be reproduced in any form, either whole or in part, without prior consent from Pet Life Ltd. Pet Life Ltd reserves the right to accept, reject or modify editorial and advertising material. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of Pet Life Ltd, their contributors, associated businesses or any related entities. Pet Life Ltd makes every effort to ensure that all information is true and correct from experts within their field. However, Pet Life Ltd or any persons involved with this publication does not accept any liability for the magazine’s content. The inclusion of any product, service or business within this publication should not be interpreted as ratification by Pet Life Ltd. Copyright © 2017. ISSN 2537-7140 (Print) ISSN 2537- 7183 (Online) 4URPAWS Pet Bandanas Worn wet these bandanas will drop your dogs temperature by 3-4%, or add a drop of lavender oil to the bandana for a calming effect for a stressed pup. ww w. fa ce bo ok .co m /4 XMAS GIVE AWA Y We have 3 festive bandanas to give away – small, medium or large. Please note your size preference. Get your entries in quick as winners will be drawn 18 December 2017 so we can have these in the post in time for Christmas. This competition will also be run on our Facebook & Instagram pages. UR PA W S Email [email protected] with 4URPAWS in the subject line.