A Chinese man says he's had the same snail as a pet for 11 years - and takes it for walks. Jinsen has now had his pet for twice the normal life span of a snail.

Yang, a migrant worker in Dongwan city, found the snail by the roadside on his way home from school in 1997. He was 14 and the snail was the size of a small coin. Now, he's a married man and the snail fills the palm of his hand. "I built a small home for it in the yard, and fed it water and soil," he said.

"On weekends, I would take it walking in the fields, and in the evenings I would put it on my desk, playing with it while doing my homework."

Last year, he married and moved to Dongwan to work: "I got permission from my wife to bring the snail with me to the new city," he added.

Experts say it's amazing for a snail to live so long and say it could be because it has been so well looked after.
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I would name him Gary

he takes it for walkS? thats gotta be a pretty slow walk

Awwww..a snail for a pet....It wouldn't stand a chance in my house on Christmas Eve...We cook those little suckers up and serve them with garlic and butter.....

What a beautiful shell that snail has.

Wow what was a story and boy and his snail. Very beautiful Shell

Wow how cool. What a pretty snail nice story.

Wouldn't his desk get all snotty and gross if he let the snail play on it?

--Jaylemurph

True, a story that sticks with you...

What a pleasant news story. Put a smile on my face. I had some odd pets when I was a kid. Among them was a trained chicken, a goat, a cricket, and a turkey

I second that....it's so Spongebob!

Lol, that's what I was thinking! I've wanted a snail just for that reason. . .but, I couldn't find one, so I just got a couple of hermit crabs and named them Gary and Mr. Krabs. lol. . .*someone watches TOO much spongebob*. hahaha.
That's a big snail! So, if I go outside and find a little snail, it can grow to be that big?

it must be worse than my walking in the field with my turtle !

Hahahaha ...

How on earth does it walk fast enough?

How sweet ....such dedication.

lol jayle can you imagine the snail trail from that thing...

and imagine fashioning a halter of some kind to take it for walkies/draggies

Sounds like the beginning of a good joke

Ha!

Reminds me of rainy days when my basset hound doesn't want to go for a walk.

--Jaylemurph

Haha i was thinking the same thing.

What a beautiful creature. See what a little love can do?