# Casa deTortuga Fountain Valley Ca



## ascott (Aug 18, 2011)

Hi all....anyone visit this place??


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## dmmj (Aug 18, 2011)

Isn't the owner dead?


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## ascott (Aug 18, 2011)

I believe so....however he had hired staff and a wife...so would imagine still operational???


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## Jacqui (Aug 18, 2011)

I did! It is no longer there since he died.


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## dmmj (Aug 18, 2011)

Last I had heard tours were no longer available.


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## Yvonne G (Aug 18, 2011)

Most of the tortoises were given to CTTC club members. There is no more Casa de Tortuga.


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## Jacqui (Aug 18, 2011)

It's a shame, because it was a very interesting place to visit. Had some great animals there. Then there were all Walter's t-shirts!


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## ascott (Aug 18, 2011)

Oh darn..but thank you all for the info


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## Tom (Aug 18, 2011)

I used to love Walter and his place! That's where my very first sulcata went in the early 90's, and that's where I got Scooter and Bert, my two 13 year old males.


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## ascott (Aug 18, 2011)

That is very awesome Tom


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## Tom (Aug 18, 2011)

I cried when I heard Walter died. I really respected and admired him. He was kind to me at a time in my life when many were not. He was a good man, and his facility was amazing. I must have taken the tour 10 times. That is where I first saw and heard of Burmese tortoise. He had the browns, but they were really big. That's also where I saw my first Texas tortoises and Diamond Back Terrapins. This was in the early 90's. He had EVERYTHING there and a full time staff dedicated to caring for them all. He owned the house next door too, but most people didn't get to go over there. He invited me and my friend to see it once. I was on cloud nine. I felt so privileged. One of my biggest mistakes in life was NOT spending more time there. It was only about 40 minutes from my house. I should have volunteered there, but I was busy trying to figure out my own mess of a life. I regret NOT getting the chance to tell him how much his kindness meant to me...


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## ascott (Aug 18, 2011)

Very cool experiences, life has a way of giving us the ones to pull on at later times.....I would not use the energy it takes Tom to hold onto Regret...it is an emotion left for the ones still alive....and it is of no real use, in my opinion 

I would imagine a man that surrounds himself with these awesome creatures can sense a good soul...he invited you to his home for a reason Tom.... smile and recall the moments of your tour and conversation with a man you admired....


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## dmmj (Aug 18, 2011)

One of the regrets in my life is I never went and took the tour, I kept saying "next year, next year" and then he died and no more tours. On a positive side he donated all of his turtle and tortoise knick nacks to the different clubs, he had some pretty awesome stuff from around the world, and it helped us in fund raising a lot.


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## Jacqui (Aug 21, 2011)

I was lucky in that it was part of a seminar they had in LA. His home was opened to us all. It was neat to see all some turtles and tortoises that I had only read about. He had some beautiful snappers too. To be honest, I spent that entire week being awed by all the people I met whom I had read about or had their books.


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