Meeting Winter the dolphin

This past weekend, I was spending time with family in Tampa and we went to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. It is a working aquarium, meaning they rescue, rehabilitate, and release injured/sick marine life and do research.

Among their permanent residents (those that could not be successfully released) is Winter, a very special dolphin. Winter lost her tail after it became entangled in a crab trap. Amazingly, she can still swim in a modified way. The trouble is that unless she can swim like a normal dolphin, her muscles won't develop properly. So, the aquarium made her a prosthetic tail! She wears it a couple of hours every day.

When I saw Winter, she did not have it on, but she was swimming around playing and enjoying herself the whole time. She's a great inspiration! Go to www.SeeWinter.com for more of her story!