Winter, who turned 6 in October is a dolphin that was rescued from entangled ropes of a crab trap when she was only two months old (December 17, 2005). After being spotted and caught by a small fishing boat and a Sea World Team, Winter was immediately rushed to Clearwater Marine Aquarium, a marine Hospital. Winter managed to survive the dreadful incident, but unfortunately her tail had to be amputated. At first Winter would have to learn to swim without a tail, forcing her to swim more like a fish (side to side body motion) than a dolphin (up and down body motion), but this unusual movement would damage her spine.
Kevin Carroll and a team of experts from Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics, who had previously designed prosthetics for others animals (including dogs, a duck and an ostrich) volunteered to help Winter by designing a special prosthetic tail for her. It took about a year and a half designing and testing a tail for her, but the months of work were worth it. Today Winter is thriving and is using her new tail with great command.
Winter's fame has spread far and wide. Crowds of visitors are traveling to Clearwater to visit the dolphin that has become an inspiration to adults and children alike, especially to children who are amputees themselves. More and more people will definitely visit her after seeing the beautiful movie that was inspired on Winter’s story, titled "Dolphin Tale" (released on September 23, 2011). I have already seen it and I really loved it - Winter plays herself in the movie (see below trailer).
Winter's fame has spread far and wide. Crowds of visitors are traveling to Clearwater to visit the dolphin that has become an inspiration to adults and children alike, especially to children who are amputees themselves. More and more people will definitely visit her after seeing the beautiful movie that was inspired on Winter’s story, titled "Dolphin Tale" (released on September 23, 2011). I have already seen it and I really loved it - Winter plays herself in the movie (see below trailer).
The tale doesn’t end here… Lessons learned from Winter´s prosthetic tail is now being used to make prosthetic limbs more comfortable for human – and animal – amputees. I have attached a touching true story about a lovely young girl called Megan McKoen that went through a terrible experience when she was just 5 months old. Megan experienced difficulties adjusting to her disability, until she met Winter and was fit with a Wintersgel liner. Read more…
2 comments:
cool.. 2nd picture of dolphin is great..
really nice post,i myself am an animal lover i really cant understand how anyone can hurt these innocent creatures....will visit again
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