SPANISH FORT, Ala. — With her 10-hour days and one-bedroom apartment, Meghan Porter doesn’t live an exceptionally pet-friendly life.

Covenant Hospice’s third annual Turtle Derby on the Delta is providing the nurse a viable outlet for her stifled affection.

“It’s better than a pet rock because I know it’s going to help somebody else, and I don’t have to walk it or remember to feed it,” Porter joked.

The derby, slated for Sunday afternoon at Spanish Fort’s 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center, will raise funds to help offset the cost of hospice care for uninsured patients in the Mobile area.

Participants are asked to adopt rubber turtles online for a suggested donation of $5 each and then cheer on their contestants as they swarm down Sardine Pass toward the finish line.

Jackie Crews, development manager for Pensacola, Fla.-based Covenant’s Mobile office, said the idea was modeled after charity rubber duck derbies across the country that have attracted as many as 10,000 participants.

The 5 Rivers event assumed a turtle theme, however, in homage to the area’s indigenous red-bellied turtle, the official state reptile.

Some 70 spectators turned out for the event in 2009, cheering on 772 contenders and netting $3,500 for hospice patients.

Crews is expecting 1,000 turtles to vie for bragging rights during this year’s event that kicks off at 2:30 p.m. Sunday with activities such as face painting, inflatables, crafts, a coloring contest and the Gulf Coast Tumblebus. The race will begin promptly at 4:30 p.m.

This year’s top prizes include a University of Alabama football autographed by Nick Saban; a weekend get-away package for two to Isle Casino in Biloxi; a dining-out package with $250 in gift certificates from local restaurants; and a one-night stay for two at the Battle House in Mobile. The 5 Rivers Delta Safaris pontoon boat, “The Pelican,” will be giving 30-minute tours for $5 per person.

Porter said she learned about the event from a friend whose mother was served by Covenant Hospice, and supporting the derby is the nurse’s way of honoring the woman’s memory.

“All joking aside, I know how important it is for patients to feel comfortable and loved at the end of their lives, and I think it’s really great that (Covenant Hospice) has found such a fun way to support such a serious thing,” she said.   

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