Today, there was a guy selling baby turtles on the street, in front of the Samuel Kelsey apartments on 14th Street NW in Columbia Heights. The poor creatures were in little plastic containers, the kind you'd find in a pet store for bringing fish home, with nothing but a few drops of water. The vendor didn't have a table or anything, just a pile of baby turtle containers on the hot, dirty sidewalk. Some kids from the neighborhood were buying them, and lord knows what kind of short and miserable lives these poor turtles will have.

Where did this guy get the turtles? Did he raid a wildlife sanctuary, or plunder Rock Creek Park? Were  they a rare species, smuggled into the country? Does he breed them in his home? I'm guessing he didn't have proper permits and whatnot.

As I walked by, I briefly thought about buying all of them, and setting them free, or bringing them to my friend who works at the zoo and who could likely assist in rescuing them. G, if you're reading, what do you advise? Then I thought I should just call the police, but decided otherwise when I imagined the conversation with the 911 dispatcher. By the time I thought to call the DC Humane Society, it was too late - the turtle seller had gone. If he comes back tomorrow, I'll try the humane society and see what they recommend.