Kim Atienza: Slowing down with animal love

Kim Atienza: Slowing down with animal love | Daily Tribune

Funny that we often think of turtles as slow. Why? Because they move ever so slowly. But, having had a Sulcata Tortoise for almost 15 years now, I have come to realize that torsoises are not slow — they are deliberate.

Really, like when eating comes around for Pong, my tiny Sulcata (yes, there are smaller ones), he moves with full intention towards the veggies he sees as food.

“Tortoises are very interactive compared to other reptiles like snakes,” says fellow tortoise-lover Kim Atienza. “They actually approach me whenever I have food or whenever I have something bright. The are attracted to color like when they see a red apple or an orange.”

The broadcast personality shares that his bigger tortoises like the Aldabra allow him to scratch the back of their head. “Compared with my other reptiles, they are sort of like dogs.”

And do the tortoises and dogs get along? I ask.

“Yes, the dogs and the tortoises get along. The Aldabras and Sulcatas are very comfortable with the dogs,” he says. “And vice versa. As a word of caution, when the tortoises are babies, do not put them with dogs because the dogs see the tiny tortoise as a chew toy.

“I know this from experience because I lost a reptile or two when I was starting out in the hobby about two or three years ago,” he adds.

Pets and kids

Kim is quick to point out that he started as an exotic pet lover. And, yes, he did have dogs, but it was reptiles that captured his fancy at the start. He liked creepy crawlers a lot, too, in his younger years.

“But I shifted my love and passion to dogs since I married Fely,” he began. “Today we have almost 50 rescued dogs in the house. So, the passion has shifted from just reptiles to reptiles and dogs.”

Kim says their home has become rescue home. “We have 19 dogs inside the house and the rest of the pack — almost 30 of them are outside. The dogs we have rescue are of different ages and also some of them are blind.”

It pays to know

For Kim, nothing replaces getting an education on the pets that you face. He says today it is easier to learn about pets because there is a lot information online.

“I am a very knowledgeable animal lover,” he quips. “Meaning, when I have a new animal, I make sure to read about animals habits, habitat and the right diet.”

As far as I am concerned, that is the basis of all hobbies of taking care of animals,” he continues. “You have to know your animals and the rules that apply to dogs and cats may not necessarily apply to tortoises and exotics.”

At home, Kim and family share their home with a pair of Aldabras that are almost 20 years old and quite big — maybe about a meter long. He believes they will still groe because they are juveniles. Aldabras and other tortoises have a lifespan of 200 years. He alss has 10 adult Sulcattas.

“I appreciate the interactiveness,” Kim says. “I like the way they look. They are very low profile because I just feed them grass and they are so happy with grass.”

He enumerates dogs, macaws, birds, tortoises, snakes, aquatic turtles, iguanas and monitor lizards in his coterie.

Back to the rescues

Kim is focused on keeping the dogs that they have rescued safe.

“We have been rescuing dogs. We home adult dogs and some of them are blind,” he begins. “A lot of them are differently abled dogs. We have been homing them for the last 10 years already.”

I think you are either an animal person or not an animal person,” he begins. “If you’re an animal person, then you can’t explain it. You just like being with them — you like watching them, you like their company, you like taking care of them and you know when they are happy.”

The talk shifts to his kids.

“My late daughter Eman has a love for snake,” he shared. “The snakes are still alive because I have had these snakes for almost 25 years. And Emman was born with these snakes. These are my ball python and she passed away with these snakes as well.”

Kim recalls his daughter taking the snakes out of their cages to show her friends when there were parties in their home.

“I remember she would bring them to parties; she would show all her friends,” he said. “She had no fear.”

Elian, his second daughter, is particularly close to one dog named Jumbo.

“When she left for college four years ago Jumbo stayed in her room every day waiting for her,” he says. “When she came home two weeks ago Jumbo was so overjoyed. But she left again for the States, so Jumbo is in her room again every single day; even in the dark she stays inside the room.”

As a last question, I ask: Do tortoises make good pets?

“Yes, because they are very cheap pets. I have a grass supplier and grass is sold cheap,” he laughs. “I have a garden with grass and sometimes I let them loose and they eat the grass.

“Right now I have about 12 turtles. I have Aldabra, Sulcata and Radiated Tortoises. I have three Alligator Snapping Turtles (water turtles). I have a pair of Mata Mata Turtles and a pair of Longneck Turtles,” he enumerates.

“The good thing about animals is their love for people and their love is always unconditional,” he muses. “So, whatever mood you are in, they will love you. That gives me joy.”