Jackie Leek, 58, bought the African sulcata tortoise she calls Mr Miyagi for company when recovering from cancer 18 months ago and the pair have been inseparable ever since
A grandmother has formed an astonishing friendship with a giant tortoise, which she affectionately takes on all her adventures – even to the pub.
Having purchased the African sulcata tortoise, whom Jackie Leek named Mr Miyagi, as a companion while recovering from cancer 18 months prior, the pair have since become inseparable companions. Jackie, 58, is often seen with the now eight year old Mr Miyagi on beach walks and even takes him on caravan holidays.
At three stone (19kg) now and expected to grow to about 10 stone (63kg), Jackie recognises that her shelled sidekick could live up to 120 years and has, in preparation, created a trust fund for his care after she passes. Mr Miyagi creates quite a stir; Jackie recounts how people are so captivated by the sizeable tortoise that they pull over their cars just for a photo opportunity.
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, a mum-of-two from Warrington, Cheshire, was diagnosed with myeloma, a type of blood cancer that develops in the bone marrow, and breast cancer around four years ago. Feeling lonely after undergoing radiotherapy, she decided to visit a pet shop where she bought a tortoise named Thor.
Sadly, Thor passed away three years later, leading Jackie to rescue another tortoise, Mr Miyagi, originally named Arthur Pendragon. Despite never considering owning a reptile before Thor, Jackie added: “I never had an interest in reptiles or tortoises ever – I’m terrified of snakes. I never thought I would get a tortoise.”
She credits Mr Miyagi with helping her through tough times, saying: “He helps me loads, I do have some dark days. I’m getting stronger after my diagnosis but Mr Miyagi is helping me.” Unable to return to work due to her weakened immune system, Jackie finds comfort in her pet tortoise. She said: “He’s a massive part of my life. He gives me a purpose and when I’m crying, he sits there and I talk to him.”
Mr Miyagi has a taste for romaine lettuce and dandelions, occasionally enjoying green beans, strawberries and tomatoes as treats. He also likes lounging in a children’s sand pit filled with water, and has a knack for “re-arranging the furniture” when Jackie is out.
The former nurse shared: “He takes himself off to bed at around 5pm and he will sleep until 8am unless I get up and he hears me in the kitchen. Before I do anything, I get a children’s sand pit and he stands next to me while I fill it with hot water and my partner lifts him into the bath.
“He can be there anytime from ten minutes to three hours and I just keep warming it up and he will poo in there, because that’s what they do. He will let me know when he’s had enough and he will then go in the garden or he will climb in his dog bed. He’s dead gentle and will sit on my slippers. If we leave him alone in the house, then you think we would have been burgled because he re-arranges the furniture.”
Jackie says that weirdly, Mr Miyagi hates the colour black and will “ram her black mop bucket around the house” in protest. The grandmother-of-two said: “He doesn’t like the colour black, I don’t know what exactly it is. My mop bucket is black and he will ram it around the house. We have a Christmas tree in a garden, that’s in a black pot, and I don’t know how he moves the tree around the garden.”
“He will ram the pot – he doesn’t like anything black. I once put a black tool box down on the floor and the next minute I knew, he was ramming it.”
African sulcata tortoises often live until they are 120-years-old, but some have been known to survive for even longer. Jackie has a trust fund set up for Mr Miyagi, so whoever takes care of him after she dies, will be able to afford it.
She said: “I’ve made plans for when I’m not here so my partner will keep him for as long as he can. After that, I’m hoping my daughter will take him and I’ve left money with him because they aren’t cheap and has the best insurance and the best vets. If my daughter can’t have him or thinks that she doesn’t want him, then my partner has two sons so I’m hoping they could even have him. If not, I’m sure there will be a home for him somewhere but you just don’t know.”
