Winter’s Story
I think many of us have seen the precious movie, “A Dolphin’s Tale,” about the dolphin whose tail was so damaged from a boating accident that it had to be amputated. As a result, she could no longer swim and would have died had she not been rescued and brought to a rehab facility.
As we see in the movie, a few caring, creative people found a way to create a prosthesis to add to her body in place of her tail and then taught her a different way of swimming which used the new tail. It was a long process, but Winter’s life was ultimately saved by these creative, out-of-the-box thinkers who refused to stop trying to find a solution for her problem.
Winter the dolphin with her prosthesis
Recently, I met a person who lives in Clearwater where Winter currently resides, and she told me even more about her story. Clearwater Marina is really a rescue and rehab facility, so it is unusual for an animal to stay there permanently. However, because of Winter’s disability, she could not be sent back into the wild.
Now Winter has a new job. Children from all over the world, many of them disabled, come to visit Winter. The staff often let the children go into the water with Winter, and my friend says it is amazing how she immediately is attracted to those with physical impairments. They also bring a lot of wounded warriors to the marina to visit Winter. Just imagine the HOPE that springs up when these wounded ones make contact with an animal who has a disability just like them and has learned to live and thrive and even help others!
Although she only wears her prosthesis twice a day, she and her friends have become beacons of light to everyone who visits the marina. Her best friend is another dolphin who is deaf, so perhaps Winter acts as his ears! Her other companions are two sea otters, one of which is blind while the other acts as his eyes.
Just like human beings, every animal has a story, and Winter’s story not only became a best-selling movie but also her presence has helped many people, and especially children, find hope in the midst of difficult circumstances. If you are ever coming to the West coast of Florida, be sure to make a trip to see Winter, www.winter.com . We all need to be reminded of messages of hope wherever we can find them!
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