That's great!
I can empathize especially because I had a similar experience growing up. Not nearly as poignant, since the animal involved is less cuddly and I was not quite as devoted to it, but...
When I was 7 or 8 I had a pet turtle (actually a tortoise, I think) that we had picked up off the road. We lived in CA and I heard about the turtle races in Sausalito. So I started "training" my turtle. I built a "run" out of 2X4s and would put him (I assumed it was a "him") at one end and a piece of lettuce at the other, then thump his shell to make him run. He never did learn to run. One day I was in the yard "training" Sam when my friends came by. We all ran off to play a neighborhood game of tag or something and Sam was forgotten. When I remembered about him and went to check, he was gone. I looked and looked and could not find him. I was so upset. I felt guilty for leaving him out. I even asked God to bring him back to me.
A year or two later my dad went to work for the State Department. We sold the house and went overseas for five years.
My parents kept in touch with the family that bought the house, and we stopped there to visit them on our return to the States. While we were there, they mentioned the turtle that lived in the yard. Incredibly, it was Sam! He had an unmistakable crack in his shell. He was then about twice as big as when I last saw him.
Tortoises are long-lived creatures so I would not be surprised if Sam lives in the yard to this day.
PS - The photo of little Natalie looks just like easy child 1! The resemblance is uncanny.
