What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found (and kept)?

How a River Cooter Named Porsche Became Our Unexpected Co-Pilot

​I could talk about an antique or some rare piece of jewelry. But the truth is, the coolest thing I’ve ever found is alive, scaly, and turns six in April 2026: my Ga river cooter, Porsche.

​He wasn’t something I went looking for. In fact, he found us during one of the most unpredictable times in our lives.

​The Georgia Connection

​My husband and I had just moved to Columbus, Georgia. We didn’t know a soul; we simply chose the city and went for it. To make ends meet, my husband started working as a pool cleaner and technician.

​One day, while working at a client’s home, he spotted something moving in the yard that definitely did not belong in the pool. It was a tiny turtle. He brought him home, and just like that, we had an unexpected resident. We named him Porsche.

​What makes this finding so incredibly special is the timing. Porsche joined our family right at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. And in that same exact, chaotic month, I gave birth to my amazing son, Jaaaziah!

​Finding a new home, welcoming a new baby, navigating a global shutdown, and suddenly owning a pet turtle all happened in a beautiful, confusing blur. Porsche became a quiet, shelled companion through it all.

​Three Years In: Meet the Male Porsche

​Now, about that name… I originally thought Porsche was a girl, and the name fit her perfectly! But about three years into our journey together, I noticed him doing some unique “flirting things” with his front claws.

​After some quick research, I discovered the truth: if a turtle has those super long, elaborate nails, they are a male. He’d been a boy the whole time! The name stuck, of course, adding an extra layer of humor to his personality.

​Porsche is a river cooter, native to the waterways of Georgia. He represents a time of major transition for our family,the uncertainty of a big move, the joy of a new baby, and the strange, quiet world of lockdown.

​He has since made the cross-country trip and settled into his new Connecticut home, a living, breathing souvenir of the unexpected kindness and stability we found in the Deep South.

​He truly is the coolest thing I’ve ever found and kept, a scaly reminder that the greatest treasures often show up when you least expect them, sometimes with long, flirty nails.