Woman brings beloved tortoise everywhere even the pub: People will abandon their cars when they see us
Grandmother Jackie Leek has struck up a remarkable bond with a giant tortoise which she takes everywhere with her – including down the pub.Jackie, 58, first bought the African sulcata tortoise she calls Mr.Miyagi for company when recovering from cancer 18 months ago.Since then the pair have become inseparable and she has taken the 8-year-old tortoise on holiday in her caravan and for regular strolls on the beach.He weighs around 42 pounds and is expected to be around 139 pounds when he gets older.And because he could live to be 120 she has even set up a trust fund to look after him when she has gone.Despite his large size, Jackie takes him everywhere she can and says people often “abandon their cars” to stop and ask for a picture of Mr.
Miyagi.She said: “I open the door and he just follows me down the drive and onto the estate, where we live.“He will just follow me and we have little walks.“People will abandon their cars when they see us, they will stop and ask if he’s real and if they can touch him.“I take him to the beach and there’s a little quiet bit where I take him.“But I went there on a bank holiday Monday and before I knew it, we were surrounded by people and everyone was having a photo shoot with him – it was mad.“People always do double turns, I once had eight cars all stop in the road and everyone got out of their vehicles.“People also can’t believe how heavy he is.”Jackie was diagnosed with myeloma, a type of blood cancer that develops in the bone marrow, and breast cancer around four years ago.After having radiotherapy, she would feel lonely so decided to go to the pet shop, where she purchased a tortoise called Thor.Jackie would often walk Thor in a pram but he tragically died three years after she first bought him.The mom-of-two then decided to rescue Mr.Miyagi, who was originally called Arthur Pendragon, but she “never” considered getting one as a pet before she got Thor.Jackie, of Warrington, Cheshire, said: “I ...