to bury my son's former nursery key worker's tortoise in our garden?

[OrdinaryGirl]

DS1 (nearly 3) had a particularly excellent key worker at his nursery, when I first returned to work following maternity leave after having him. She still babysits for him and he adores her. Let's call her Ellie.

When I collected DS1 on Friday, I got chatting to Ellie and she said she was sad because her tortoise had died. I expressed condolences and asked if she was going to have a little funeral. She said she didn't have a garden so couldn't bury him at home, and her mum (who has a garden) was on holiday, so she wasn't sure what to do for best.

So. I offered to bury her tortoise. It felt like the right thing to do. We arranged for her to bring him round today.

I get home, and explained the situation to DH, and he has put his foot down ('See this foot?...) saying he doesn't want our small garden to be a repository for other people's dead pets, where will it end etc.

I said it was my garden too and anyway I had committed to doing it so he would have to lump it.

He is now really miffed. I think this is mean and unfeeling towards Ellie. ION, the tortoise is being dropped off in the next half hour and I have to work out how to store it until I can dig a suitable grave.) He thinks IABU.

AIBU?

You can get garden ornaments in the shape of a tortoise

here

Just saying - in case you wanted a tortoisy head stone. (And your DH will love it obv.)

My 41 year old tortoise died a few months ago and he was swiftly dispatched to the vet to deal with. Zombie they were illegal for quite a while but I think you can buy them again now.

Clash I feel your pain. I had a similar experience when I dug up a previous occupant's dog from our tiny garden - why oh why would you plant your dead dog in a shallowish grave in a raised planter right next to the house??? I was happily pulling out weeds WITH MY BARE HANDS and pulled up one that had grown through the skull of a small (thankfully fully decomposed) dog.

Sorry for your loss Tattiepants
41 is brilliant going for a tortoise isn't it? You must have been a very loving torto-parent.

Ellie had this tortoise for 7 years - I think he was 10 at time of death. She said she was wondering if the fact that he could only go out when supervised had contributed to his early demise.

I am too scared to look at him. He is in cardboard gift box, double bagged in freezer. Not sure if best to bury in just box, or little bit of pillowcase, or what.

A bit shocked at all these animal corpses in people's gardens...

Kurrikurri what an excellent idea. I could move it around the garden too. I wonder if they do them with angel wings.

Why can she not put it in her freezer until she can bury it at her mums? Why does her mum even need to be home?

How kind of you!

Pissing myself at 'where will it end'

This will be very identifying if anyone I know reads this.

My beloved rabbit died earlier this year and we live in a flat. We weren't sure what to do with him so he was in the fridge for nearly a week. We found a great spot in our local park so illegally buried him there. He's in a metal tin we carved and sealed and made a very deep hole so no dogs get him. We visit him all the time and leave little things for him. I've put a little dream catcher on the tree where he's buried so he has nice dreams. I miss him terribly

These are good points thoughts.

Her mum lives in her home city about an hour's drive away though. And Ellie has a personal attachment to the tortoise - she looked so upset when I suggested she bury him. In fairness I can't imagine personally burying precious special snugglebottoms pooky wah-wah Ordinarycat so I can understand it's too much to think about.

Do not know if we actually have spade. Suggestion of burying 3 foot deep is worrying. Esp. as lawn only 4m sq and surrounded by 60ish cm of flowerbeds. Thankfully is small tortoise.

I think it's lovely to have offered and would tell your DH that it doesn't need a big hole in the garden, certainly not as big as the one you will be digging for him if he doesn't chill

It's not one of those giant Galapagos ones is it?
Because that would need one hell of a hole and I would have to agree with your DH