Funeral director has spent 19 years walking the streets with the giant pet tortoise

Funeral director Mitani Hisao has owned the tortoise for 19 years after he purchased it from a Tokyo pet shop to take the place of the child he never had.

The 62-year-old named the tortoise Bon-chan and watched over it as it grew from five to 75cm in diameter.

Mitani said: ‘I never had any children, but 19 years ago my wife caught the eyes of this little tortoise and felt an instant bond with him. I couldn't leave the store without it.

‘But we had no idea he would become this big.’

Over the years Mitani has developed a close relationship with the 70kg creature and he often refers to it as the son he never had.

‘Bon-chan is the only one in my family that listens to me, so I confide in him all the time,’ he said.

‘I just say his name and he walks over to me.’

‘He knows all my dirty secrets – if he could talk I would be in trouble.’

Despite the reputation of the tortoise being a slow and methodical creature, Mitani claims that Bon-chan is actually pretty quick.

He said: ‘I take him out for walks two to three times a week, he loves these walks, he has a set route that takes us around 1.5 hours.

‘Bon-chan knows the route by heart and is very strong-minded, so it is more me that follows him, than the other way around.

‘We walk the neighbourhood and we are pretty famous around here.’

(dailymail.co.uk)