Turtle - A pet you can pass on for many generations

I had no idea what species or sex my turtle was. My dad got it for me when I was six. I had it for a few years before it escaped. As a kid, I had no idea how to raise a turtle nor I was prepared for it. The turtle was a gift from my dad, who also had no idea how to care for a turtle. Good thing about the turtle is, it could last for a long time without eating properly. So it lasted long enough before someone told us we should have fed it with meat. I don't even want to mention what my dad was feeding it...lol. It was so wrong.